What should have happened Klaroline Delena 4x09
by Logan27
Summary: For us Delena and Klaroline fans, 4x09 didn't really end how we would have liked so here's the first chapter of an alternate ending...
1. Chapter 1

DISCLAIMER: none of these characters are mine. I start out with some dialogue that completely belongs to the CW and the writers of the Vampire diaries but then venture into my own.  
This first chapter focuses on Klaroline in 4x09

"You're going to do WHAT?!" Caroline was trying to keep her voice down.  
"Haylee found a witch strong enough to do the body jump spell, ya know, the Klaus specialty." Tyler explained, fake snow falling all around them in the town square.  
"So you're going to put him into someone else's body and then what?"  
We'll encase the body in concrete, then bury it."  
"Why not just desiccate him like Bonnie did?" She asked.  
"Because to do that spell you have to stop a human heart and I was a little short of volunteers." Tyler said the obvious.  
"Well, who was dumb enough to volunteer their body to be a Klaus sub-let?"  
Tyler paused and she got the point. Her eyes widened.  
"Okay, don't freak out." He started.  
"Freak out! Freak out?! I'm about to hemorrhage you. You volunteered?!" Again, Caroline was trying to keep her voice down.  
"It's not forever. Just long enough for the hybrids to be able to completely disappear."  
"Well I can think of better ways to spend our Senior year than with you buried in concrete, Tyler."  
He put his hands on her shoulders.  
"This started with me. This has to end with me. I need your support."  
Caroline nodded.

Later that day...  
There was a piece of the puzzle that seemed to be eluding her but she couldn't see what it was. It was that feeling that everything happening around her were just the small bits but not the larger picture. As if they were all puppets and the string master was being very clever. Tyler trying to put Klaus "on ice", Stefan wanting the sword to decipher Jeremy's growing mark, Jeremy working with Bonnie and "Professor Creepy" to help him not kill the vampires that were actually on their team... And why did the Professor want to help? Why was he teaching Bonnie new magic? Why was it better than what she'd been doing before dabbling in black magic? What was the connection? It was all going on at once.  
The softly painted snowflake in front of her was being dedicated to charity by none other than Klaus of course. He always was good at art. She still had his drawing of her with the horse tucked in her bedside table. Why she hadn't been able to throw it away, she had no idea. She should have.  
And suddenly, she felt a tingle on her spine. All the little hairs standing on end. A reaction her body had when Klaus was drawing near. This, Caroline couldn't explain either. Recently developed and something that scared the crap out of her.  
Looking over her right shoulder confirmed it. There he was, standing with a genuine smile. She had seen that smile a few times before. He let his emotions ease around her. Klaus' smile at that moment was carefree, humbled and completely focused on her.  
Caroline gave him a once over. "Here to steal Tiny Tim's crutches?" was her opening insult.  
"Dickens was a dark man, you would've like him," Klaus answered with a glimmer in his eye, very much referring to someone else she begrudgingly already liked.  
Caroline skirted around a table as he walked to close the distance between them. As soon as she did, she regretted it. How obvious could she be? Doing so showed her fear, fear of being near him, near temptation. Both of them knew it was there.  
"Nice snowflake by the way."  
"Is my work really that literal?"  
"I'm serious," her voice turned delicate, "there's something... lonely about it."  
"I'm going to take that as a complement." For a moment Klaus' features were harsh as if she'd hurt him. But then he swiftly recovered. "Can I offer you some Champagne?"  
"Can't," Caroline turned, "Too many adult prying eyes. Don't want to be a High School cautionary tale at the next town meeting." She turned around again to see he was following her.  
"Well then, it's a good thing the High School part's nearly over."  
"If we're going to be nice to each other then I_ will_ need that glass of Champagne."  
He smiled. "Is that our _thing_?" he asked as he stepped closer, eyes seductive.  
"We don't have a '_thing'_," she lied through her teeth.  
"Allow me." he said.  
As he was about to leave, Caroline grabbed his wrist and stopped him. She took a ragged breath. She and Stefan didn't just need the sword. Something told her that they would need Klaus as well. He had become a sort of ally to them. If there was something that Caroline was indeed missing, she would need his help. He hadn't been around for thousands of years and gained all the knowledge that naturally followed to not know strategy and how to discern when something more was going on.  
His face showed confusion, curiosity and a hint of down right mischief.  
"What is it, Love?"  
"I- you... you need to come with me." She got out.  
Some weariness seeped into his expression but he smiled that devilish smile and nodded, signaling her to lead the way.  
Caroline walked for what seemed a like a long time, but then not using vamp-speed, it would. She had to just to make sure that they were out of_ everyone's_ earshot. And over the distance they covered, Klaus had intertwined their fingers. As much as this bugged her, it also heated her as well. She wanted what she shouldn't.  
At what she knew was a safe distance, Caroline stopped and turned to face him as he waited patiently for what she would do or say next.  
"What I'm about to tell you... will pretty much betray all my friends in one way or another; everyone that I care about." Her far off gaze was directed at the ground without really seeing it at all.  
Klaus' grip on her hand tightened slightly but in a gentle way. She could feel him looking at her, willing her to look up at him. And she did. Yet, he didn't say a word. Only waited for her to continue.  
"Stefan's at your house now, searching for the sword so we can decode the mark on Jeremy ourselves. We had to move up the time table without you because of what Tyler plans to do." She was shaky.  
Klaus grazed her jawline and tilted her chin to look directly into her eyes. He knew she was on vervain but he wasn't trying to compel her anyway.  
"And what is our Tyler planning on doing?" He asked.  
Caroline took a deep breath. "He's unsired all of your hybrids and they plan on putting you into Tyler's body, encasing you in concrete just long enough for the Hybrids to get away and hide."  
Without giving away anything, the Original Hybrid kept his eyes trained on hers as she began to speak again.  
"They were planning to do it today so we either needed to find the sword or we had to protect you from the hybrids. From Tyler."  
"So, you just wanted to warn me so I could help you and Stefan find Elen's cure then?" He asked sounding on the verge of disappointment.  
"No... I- it's just that there's so much going on right now, even things I don't know about, things I can't piece together. There's something on the edge of it all that I can't quite grasp. Tyler will take his pack's side no matter if it's against his closest friends. So, you're... I actually trust you more. I think," she said slowly, still looking into his eyes, "that you're the only one on our side. The only one on _my_ side. I-" she blinked a few times. "I trust you."  
Klaus looked down into Caroline's eyes with such softness and pleasant surprise. It had a touch of the look he gave her when he was telling her of the beautiful world she could see if she wanted him to save her after being bitten by Tyler. A misted look of pure, unguarded emotion.  
"I already knew about my hybrids, Caroline."  
Her eyes widened in shock.  
"You did?!" Her brow scrunched in confusion.  
He gave a short laugh. "You didn't really think that a man like me could be around for as long as I have and not picked up on a few things did you?"  
Just as she thought. He was looking at it all from a bird's eye view. Seeing more than just from his perspective. She was about to answer but he went on.  
"But the fact that you didn't think I had an inkling and wanted to warn me..." He rested his forehead on hers with a hand and the back of her neck. "Tell me the truth, Love, with no quips or comebacks; you're starting to care for me aren't you? And not just for the sake of Elena or Stefan or anyone else." His voice was just above a whisper.  
Caroline took in a few breaths and then put a hand to his chest. "Yes." was her simple reply. And then, he kissed her.  
This kiss was unlike the passion crazed one they shared when he was in Tyler's body. This one meant more because she knew exactly who she was with; knew exactly how much she was bearing herself and her feelings.  
Her eyes fluttered shut as he guided her against his body and her arms naturally wrapped around his neck. She hadn't let herself even imagine this moment but was now feeling every bit of it so intensely. His soft lips and the stubble all along his face was a heady combination. Tyler has never felt like this to her. A feverish teenage boy dream, sure, but not like this. Not like a man could feel. He smelled masculine and not of that stupid Abercrombie cologne that Tyler used too much of. At times it was almost nauseating.  
She pushed back at that moment.  
"Wait, if you knew about the hybrids, what were you planning on doing about it?" she asked.  
"What would you do, Caroline?"  
She thought about it for a moment. And just that, a moment, because it really didn't take any longer to come up with her answer.  
"I would kill them." She was astonished at her own words and how firmly they came out. But, in his place, what else would she do? There were people she cared about that the hybrids could go after, they were a risk, a liability. If the choice were between her loved ones and a pack that she cared nothing about then, yes, she would slaughter them all. The thought surprised her but it was one she couldn't argue with.  
Klaus gave her an are-you-getting-the-picture-now? look.  
She nodded. Her hands were still on his chest as he lightly gripped her upper arms. "Could you leave Tyler out of it?"  
"Yes, I assumed your break up was an act. However, seeing as stressed as things are with the two of you, I'm guessing that now it's more of a reality." He paused. "But I can forgive Tyler for now and chalk it up to a misguided decision... Caroline, I'll do it this time but if he comes after me again I won't be so generous. And he'll probably want to after what I must do to the rest of them."  
Again, she nodded.  
"Go to my manor tonight, Love. Tyler nor I will come to any harm and by the time I return to you, it will all be over."  
"But-"  
He stopped her rebuttal with another kiss. "Trust me, Darling. In your heart, you know you can." His eyes collided with hers in a way that only held the truth.  
At that he sped away and she did what she almost never would. She did what she was told. Because she did, trust him that is...

***The next chapter will address Elena and Damon from the same episode and Chapters beyond that will continue with both relationships.


	2. Chapter 2

** First off, just want to say that you guys are AMAZING! I've been reading your reviews and comments and I'm so glad you all liked it. I'm going to do everything I can to keep it that way! Enjoy this chapter and the ones to come. There are plenty!

Bonnie, Jeremy and Elena were all sitting around a box of old ornaments at the lake house, talking about Jenna and beautiful times that seemed worlds away. In a place where they knew nothing about vampires or werewolves or any of it really. Things had been simple before the Gilbert parents died. Elena was the typical High School cheerleader. Jeremy was her nerdy little brother and things weren't so dark. Yet, then again, they weren't nearly as interesting either. Damon had been right that first night in the road. She did want danger and passion...  
Elena picked up a died piece of mistletoe that Jenna had once used to get Logan Fell to kiss her and headed out to where Damon was sitting on the railing outside. He'd been observing from his perch, not willing to come inside even when Elena had gestured to him.  
"With all the drama, you're missing the actual fun part," she said, holding the mistletoe above their heads. Damon looked up but his face fell.  
"Elena, we can't. I can't."  
She lowered the plant with disappointment.  
"Damon, you can't keep telling me that this isn't real. I know how I feel and that you feel it too so stop fighting it," she plead.  
Damon glanced inside to where Bonnie and Jeremy were still sitting, laughing and smiling then back to Elena.  
"It's good to see you like that. All normal with your brother. I want that again for you. Christmas was always mine and Stefan's favorite holiday when we were kids. Not that I've celebrated it since. Kinda miss that," he mused.  
"You're thinking about how upset he'll be when he finds out that you and I are together."  
"I've been lying to him all day." Damon said.  
"No, you were helping me with Jeremy."  
"Point is not _what_ I was doing, the point is that I'm here with you. I was suppose to invoke the sire bond, Elena. Send you away. I was suppose to do the right thing by you and the right thing by my brother... which is what I'm gonna do right now."  
He looked deep into her eyes. "You're gonna go home."  
"What?! No! Damon!" Elena was suddenly filled with the most crippling fear. _God please no!_ She thought.  
"I'm going to stay here with Jeremy," he continued, "I'm going to help him complete the mark. I'll teach him how to hunt. I'll protect him. And we'll kill vampires without you."  
"Damon, please!" she cried.  
Even with the pained look on his face, he kept going. "I'm setting you free, Elena. This is what I want. This is what will make me happy."  
Elena blinked several times.

Moments later, Bonnie had the car running and was about to get in. Damon was seeing Elena off.  
"I was ready to fight you on this but suddenly every part of my body is telling me that I need to get in this car and leave you."  
"So do it." He replied.  
He noticed a subtle change in her stance. She whispered something that he could only barely make out: "Every part of my body but not my heart." She said it as though she was zeroing in on something. Her voice picked up louder when she looked at him directly. "I _love_ you, Damon." She enunciated every single word as if she was desperately trying to get it out and cling to it.  
Elena's expression steeled as she backed up, tensely muscled with her steps to the porch. She sat down with force, a look on her face as if she was fighting something with every ounce of will that she had and wrapped her arms and legs around one of the support beams that ran from the roof to the porch.  
Damon looked to her with confusion.  
"I LOVE YOU, DAMON!" She screamed at him. "And I will NOT leave you! I will NOT!" Her tears ran down her face and her hold tightened around the beam so it was starting to splinter.  
"Elena-" Damon began.  
"I will do anything you want me to, Damon, but not this. This is **_my_** choice! I choose you. 'I will always. Choose. You.'" She recited words back to him that he'd once said to her.  
"My will and my love for you is stronger than some stupid sire bond!" Her tears were steaming hot, blurring her vision. "I loved you before my transition, you know that. I love you now. And to love someone, really, genuinely love them, sometimes you have to do what's right no matter what the spell or the compulsion or bond."  
Again, Damon started to speak but again she interrupted him with her eyes squeezed shut as if in an effort to block something.  
"'Set something free'," she quoted, "'If it comes back to you, it's yours forever. If it doesn't, it was never yours to begin with'." Her ragged breaths carried her voice. "You set me free, Damon. You ORDERED me free! And I won't do it! I will**_ not_** leave. I will never stop coming back to you! And if you start invoking that stupid bond again, I _swear_ I will drive a stake through your gut just to make you shut up!" She yelled, going hoarse.  
Damon stopped and just stared at her.  
Elena was rejecting the sire bond. Something so strong that even Tyler and his pack with all their hatred of Klaus couldn't over power. Elena, however, _loved_ Damon. _Was love really stronger?_ He wondered. _Was it so strong that it could fight against his sending her away? Was that corny fairytale myth about Love conquering all true?_  
Damon dropped to the ground at her feet and looked at her. Her eyes were shut tight but still the tears we coming out.  
"I won't look at you," she said, "Not until-"  
"Okay, Elena. Okay," Damon hushed her. "Do you want to stay with me? Of your own will?" He asked.  
"Of course." Came her now weakened voice as her eyelids eased. The shouting had strained even a vampire's throat.  
"Then how about this: The one thing that would make me the happiest," Elena stiffened as if expecting him to try sending her away again, "is for you to stay with me so long as it's what **_you_** want." he emphasized.  
Elena opened her reddened, wet eyes to look at him. "Really?!" The biggest smile spread over her face. It was infectious and then spread to Damon's as well.  
"Really," he confirmed.  
She launched herself into his arms and hugged him, kissed him and finally took his head with a hand on either side of his face.  
"I will only say this one more time." She was stern. "I love you, Damon Salvatore. I did before I turned, before there was ever a drop of your blood in me. Sire bond or no sire bond, I love you. It didn't create anything that wasn't already there. So stop trying got be the martyr. That's Stefan's thing." They half laughed at the bad joke. "You make me happy, you don't _make_ me happy." She smiled getting the distinction across. "I love and want you and you love and want me. It's that simple. You're not being selfish or the 'bad guy'. You _do_ do the right things, Damon. Just not necessarily tonight," a roll of her eyes. "You have become the better man. The man I'm in love with." She ended.  
Damon was smiling. "Were you serious about staking me in the gut if I tried it again?"  
"Yes" Elena said with attitude. "Never in the heart of course but I would inflict some serious pain. You're stuck with me, Damon, admit it."  
He looked deeper into her eyes with awe and wonder. "It **_is_** real. Everything you feel. And... it's so strong that you fought with it." He sounded absolutely amazed. "There was a girl counting all the bricks in an entire city but I can't get you to even get in a car."  
She looked at him, confounded. "Never mind" he shook his head.  
Damon lowered his mouth to hers, pressing her tightly to him and they started kissing in a kind of heated frenzy when they heard someone clear their throat.  
_Oh yeah_, Elena thought, _Jeremy and Bonnie are still here.  
_Damon and Elena both looked embarrassed but smiled awkwardly and put an arm around one another.  
Elena gave a wave and a smile to her friend. "See you tomorrow, Bonnie. I'm staying here with Damon to help Jeremy."  
Bonnie opened her mouth as if she were about to say something but then closed it with a smile, a nod and a wink. She lowered herself into the seat and closed the foor. Elena heard the car go into drive and watched as it eased out onto the gravel road toward Mystic Falls. Both Bonnie and Jeremy had just witnessed that there was no questioning what was really between her and Damon. She'd proven it. Beyond a shadow of a doubt, the four of them knew.  
"Well," Jeremy began from behind them, "I guess we start in the morning. Uh, not to spoil all the gross vampire lovin' or anything but the two of you and Professor Shane might want to take shifts watching me tonight. It might be okay so far but..." He trailed off.  
Damon nodded and so did Elena. They understood.  
Jeremy headed into the house first and shook his head a little. "Jeez, Stefan's gonna be pissed." He muttered.  
The couple behind him slowed their pace and their smiles faded a little as they gave one another that yeah-but-what-can-we-do? look.

*** the next chapter will have both of my favorite couples. Hope you liked this!


	3. Chapter 3

***I'm not sure how to put all these into Chapters that you can just flip through so I hope you all have been able to follow all this so far.

Caroline was sitting at Klaus' manor when Stefan called.  
"Where have you been?" The younger Salvator asked. He seemed really worried. He was such a good friend to her. They'd grown close over the past few months and she really felt like she had a confidant, someone to share everything with.  
"I, um, I'm at Klaus' place." She was nervous as to how he'd react. How could she explain everything that had happened?  
"You're where?" The concern was evident in his voice.  
"We had to throw off Tyler and his pack, right?" She asked.  
"What'd you do, Caroline?"  
"I did what I had to. You're not going to like it but I promise it's for the greater good. Kind of like you turning people just so Jeremy could kill them and reveal more of the mark." That was a sorry comparison and she knew it.  
"Klaus was forcing my hand. What has he done to you?"  
"Nothing! I swear, everything's fine. Well, with me anyway. Look, we need Klaus for so many reasons, I don't even know where to start. He can help with god knows what, Stefan. Even if we'd gotten the sword and forged ahead without him, I can guarantee there would be problems that we'd run into. Things that only he could help with. You know that. He's gotten us out of things before, helped us when we were clueless as to what was going on." Caroline was babbling but she knew it made sense.  
There was silence on the other end and Stefan seemed to be pondering what she'd said. "I can't get ahold of Tyler," he spoke finally.  
"Don't worry. Tyler's going to be okay. For now at least."  
"You know, I thought I'd be happier watching Klaus get lead away to the slaughter but for some reason I can't help but feel kind of..." he searched for the word. "... guilty."  
"Yeah, you and me both." She answered. "I couldn't do it anymore, Stefan."  
He didn't ask any questions so she could only assume that he knew more than he was saying. Had he seen the events of tonight unfold as she'd been sitting in Klaus' empty manor? Did he know more than she did?  
"I tried reminding myself of all the horrible things he's done."  
"See, that's the thing. We've all done horrible things." Stefan was about to explore an epiphany that she could tell he'd been thinking about for some time.  
"And I'm sitting here trying to figure out what makes us any better than him. And I think it's just that we have family that we can trust." He said. Caroline was staring at Klaus' fireplace, knowing that Stefan was clueless as to what was going on with Elena and Damon. It would tear him apart to learn what they'd been up to since Elena had ended things with her him.  
"Yeah, you're right, Stefan. Trust is_ everything_..." She decided it was time that he knew. "Have you heard from Damon?"  
"Yeah, he's still with Jeremy at the Lake House." He wasn't catching on.  
"Did he happen to mention where Elena was?" Her tone was solemn and she resisted the urge to gulp. The lump in her throat was growing.  
There was a short silence and then, "Wait, why are you- why are you asking me this?" Now she heard the apprehension in his tenor sound.  
"They're together aren't they?" He was putting the pieces in place even in her silence. "How together are they?" Caroline still didn't say a word and Stefan's question became more desperate. "Caroline, tell me. How _together_ are they?" She simply couldn't bring herself to answer him yet that in it's self was his answer.  
She heard a short puff of breath in the earpiece and knew that it just hit him. More silence and then she heard a few sounds of things being broken, crashes and then the connection went dead.  
"Oh, shit." she put her head in her hands.  
"Are you alright, Love?" Klaus' endearment rang from behind her.  
When she turned around she almost screamed. He was covered in blood. Every bit of his clothing was absolutely drenched and there were splatters on his face. _How did this happen? Was he really that violent when killing the hybrids? I guess he has a lot of rage when being betrayed. But then, I've betrayed him before and he's never done anything to_ me...  
"Don't worry, none of it's Tyler's. I promised." His face studied hers worried that even though she knew what he'd set out to do that she still wouldn't be able to accept the physical sight of it. He was afraid that she'd run away. So he watched and waited as her face was blank for a moment and then seemed to be searching her mind for something. Then, she looked up at him as though she'd made her mind up about something.  
She walked over to him and took his hand leading him to the bathroom. "'See, that's the thing. We've all done horrible things. And I'm sitting here trying to figure out what makes us any better than him.' Stefan said this," she explained as they neared the bathroom. "'And I think it's just that we have family that we can trust'." Caroline finished Stefan's words and began with her own as she entered the room with the enormous shower, the Original hybrid in tow. "I told you that I trust you, Klaus. And I do. Stefan can too if you give him some time." She gently began to slide off his suit jacket and unbutton his now bloodstained white collared shirt.  
His expression told her that he was completely off guard and had no idea what to expect or what she was doing.  
"And even though we've done things to make it hard for you to trust us as well, you have to know that you can. Even after playing the distraction, I need you to know that that's not going to happen anymore. And I need you to take my word for it. I'll prove it to you over time," she said as she finished the last of the buttons and took off his shirt. She turned and started the shower and seven shower heads began to beat down with warm water that she knew would calm him.  
His look was one of a man completely lost for words as she gestured to his shoes and he obeyed in taking them off. Caroline then took off his pants but left on his boxers as she slowly moved with him into the shower. She was still fully clothed but being undressed wasn't the point. The point was to show him tenderness.  
Klaus was... well he didn't really know what he was. That was a first in a very long time for him.  
"Relax," she whispered as she lathered his hair with shampoo. She would start from the top and ever so softly move her way down.  
The blood began to wash out of his hair and drip down onto the floor of the shower and then down the drain. She didn't stop massaging his scalp until the water ran clear. Then onto his face and neck. It took a while but he simply accepted what she was doing without trying to understand her purpose or what her end goal was. No idea what she had planned but he didn't care. He was enjoying the feel of her hands on him.  
She cleaned all of him except where his boxers still covered. It was too soon for something like that.  
Caroline looked like heaven to him. Still wearing her beautiful white outfit from today that was now drenched and covered in blood in some places, she was a sight to be seen. Her blond locks were plastered to her face and neck with droplets of water and she looked like a creature from tales of sailors being seduced to their death. But she was no murderess. She was this gorgeous woman. Stuck physically at the age of 17, she was still a beautiful, grown woman.  
"See? All clean." Her eyes shined in a loving way that almost broke his heart.  
Taking his head in both of her hands she spoke so directly as if to make sure he didn't misunderstand her. "You're just like us. We've all done things, good and bad. The only difference is that we're not alone. And now, you're not either."  
Her leap of faith touched him. She was offering him not only her companionship but a place among people that might begin to care for him one day as she was now.  
He looked around a little awkwardly. "I'll, uh, get dried off and wait for you." He didn't want to ruin this precious moment by trying to take things too far. He would, just not now.  
He grabbed a towel after exiting the shower and Caroline saw him begin to pat his wet skin as he closed the bathroom door behind him...

At the lake house, it was the Professor's turn to watch over Jeremy and Elena and Damon were trying to get some sleep. Damon huffed in frustration.  
"Can't sleep?" Elena whispered.  
"No." He stared at the ceiling. How was he suppose to get any sleep? The woman next to him just proved above and beyond how much she loved him. They'd had the most mind-blowing sex just a day before and she was no more than a few inches from him in a bedroom just off of the main living room where her vampire hunter brother and Mr. Creepy were.  
He made an irritated sigh.  
"'Ugh, this would be so much more fun if we were naked'." She said quietly with a smile.  
"Stop throwing my words back at me. You're not helping." Damon sounded like a child being unfairly denied a cookie. _And what a yummy cookie_, he thought.  
Elena reached around, splayed her hand over his chest and began slowly and torturously sliding it down. "You know, we could always sneak out during Shane's shift-"  
Before she could finish there was a thundering boom sound as the front door was pummeled in. Both of them shot up in bed and sped out the bedroom door to see Shane and Jeremy standing up just as surprised as they were. And in the door way stood a blood thirsty Stefan. He looked like he was going to kill someone and that homicidal gaze honed in on Damon.  
"Wait a min-" Elena started and tried to get in the middle of the two brothers.  
"SHE'S SIRED TO YOU AND YOU KNOW IT!" Stefan thundered as he crashed into Damon with every pound of force a vampire could muster. "You took advantage! You said you would set her free! You LIED to me!" The blows began. Stefan trying to drive Damon into the floor and Damon trying his best to just stay on defense.  
"He did, Stefan!" Elena shouted. "He ordered me to leave him!"  
Stefan paused mid-punch. "Then why are you still here?" His furious tone flared from him without taking his eyes off his brother.  
"She fought." Damon said. "I said everything that was needed. I made it very clear that she was to leave. I completely released her but she fought, Stef. She overpowered the sire bond." He was still in a choke hold as Stefan had ahold of his collar, the other hand in a fist in the air.  
"It's true," Jeremy piped up. "I saw the whole thing. He almost had her in the car to drive away with Bonnie but then it's like she... I don't know. She just wouldn't do it."  
Stefan slowly let Damon go and backed away, his body still tense. He turned his head slightly to the left, speaking to Elena but still not looking at her. "So, you're not sired anymore? You broke it?"  
"Not exactly. I just couldn't follow that _one_ command. I- I love him, Stefan. I'm still sired but the love I have for him which had nothing to do with the bond is what gave me the strength to reject him telling me to go. It's the one thing stronger."  
He then turned to look at her, his body turning completely. She could see his eyes beginning to water. "There's nothing that anyone could have done." He was speaking more to himself. "I thought that it was the only reason you would ever go to him. I got that you felt for him. I understood that... but _love_? I never thought you would love him like you loved me. And I guess I was right... you love him _more_."  
With that, Stefan walked out with a blank stare with everyone in the lake house completely frozen staring after him.

By the time Caroline came out and found Klaus by the fire he'd lit, she was devoid of her soiled dress and wrapped in three towels. He was dressed in loose fitting pants that hung on his hips and a wheat colored shirt with three snaps undone from the neck down to the halfway point of his chest. She had noticed that he seemed fond of those.  
He looked up. "There are some of Rebekah's clothes still in her room. I know you never liked her but you might prefer them to being all bundled up like that."  
Caroline thought about that for a moment. "Are there any of your clothes that I could wear?"  
He couldn't help but let a small smile grace his features. She wanted to wear his clothes. Usually that happened after a night of passion and a woman never looked more attractive than when the man's clothing hung off of her delicate frame. Caroline's uncombed hair would suit the look wonderfully. "I'll see what I can find." He said and climbed the stairs with his head slightly down as to hide his glee.  
Sweatpants with a draw string and his most form fitting v-neck were the only things he could find so he glided back down to Caroline with them in tow.  
"These should do." He passed them over to her and she looked up at him and twirled her finger. With her humor lit expression it was the international code for 'turn around, you doofus, and don't peek!' so he did.  
His eyes wandered to the wall and could hear all the faint sounds of things a normal human wouldn't have heard. The towels almost silently dropping to the floor, the fabric of his clothes sliding over her skin as she put them on, her hair being swept from under the shirt once she got it on...  
"Okay." Caroline announced.  
Klaus turned around and there she was, just as he knew she would look. Stunning even more so in this than in any other outfit he'd seen, including the dress he's bought her for the ball his mother held.  
"What?" She said nervously looking down to examine herself.  
"Nothing, Love. Yet everything at the same time," He told her with an easy smile. One that she returned with a blush...

***More to come! Hope to keep getting your feed back. I welcome constructive criticism as well just don't be too harsh ;) Thanks for reading! Keep an eye out for the next one.


	4. Chapter 4

"We've looked everywhere, Damon." Elena sounded exhausted.  
Damon had his tongue pressed to the side of his teeth, mouth slightly open in vague thought, not looking at her. "No, if we'd looked 'everywhere' we would have found him by now." For some reason he was still glancing around the Salvator Boardinghouse from the front hall as if something there would tip him off. He'd done the same thing in almost every other room.  
Elena huffed a breath. She hated when he treated her like a child so she changed the subject. "Why do you think Professor Shane was like that when we left?"  
"Like what? Like a man who's plan wasn't being followed? Like a douche with too many freakin' secrets?" his smile was tight, eyes squinted in irritation.  
"Uh, yeah." Damon pinned down what she'd been thinking. They'd worked out a system since last night. He tried to make sure she voiced her opinion before he said his just so they knew what she really thought. Damon hadn't said anything about Shane yet Elena's trust of the man had disappeared. Something was off about him and it wasn't Damon's thoughts overriding hers. Late last night, the Professor kept trying to make excuses about why they shouldn't go. He appeared to barely restrain his anger when they told him that Bonnie would have to put her "training" on hold until they found Stefan and so would Jeremy for that matter. He was a man who had a course and people were deviating from it. That fact did not go unnoticed. Even Jeremy had looked at his mentor funny. He caught it too.  
"Well, something's definitely been up his sleeve for a while. Glad we agree. If we didn't, you wouldn't have asked. Or, well, you just would have agreed eventually anyway." Damon said with a smirk, resting his head against a wall.  
"You don't think he would do anything stupid, do you?" She asked.  
"Shane?"  
"No. Stefan."  
"What do you think, Elena?"  
"I'm asking because I have no idea. As his brother of 160 odd years, you should know better than I would."  
"First fight: Check" Damon snarked.  
"This isn't a fight."  
"Oh," Damon faned innocence and surprise, standing straight from his lean and looked at her, "You don't think so? You don't _agree_?"  
Elena squinted her eyes pointedly at him. "I'm starting to," she grumbled. _And I'll be damned if I'm not!_ She thought but just shook her head and laughed.  
"What?" He asked.  
"The sire bond."  
"You find it humorous?"  
"Kind of. I mean, I know what I think and I'm starting to recognize the change when it shifts to what you think so I'm starting to be able to keep track of everything. When I don't agree with my initial thought, I now know to stick with it anyway. Because it was my own and simply because sometimes it pisses you off." Elena giggled.  
Damon loved her thought process. Her personality was really unchanged since she became a vampire. More amplified, sure. More kinky, fuck yes. But still the same wonderful girl he couldn't help but adore.  
"No." Damon said.  
"No what?"  
"No, I don't think he would do anything stupid. Not suicidal stupid anyway. He'll probably just go off the deep end." He hiked up his eyebrows with fake joy. "And you know who we'll have to get to help us with that."  
"Klaus," Elena plopped the name out there.  
"Yep, so come on." He grabbed her hand.  
"Wait, Damon. What even happened with all that yesterday?"  
"Don't know," he shrugged. "Guess we'll find out."

Caroline awoke slowly. The kind of gradual transition from sleep to consciousness where you just enjoy the journey, taking in one thing at a time. The first thing she noticed with her eyes still shut was that her face was nuzzled into someone's warm neck and not in a feeding kind of way. The second thing was that she was in someone's lap and that person had their strong arms wrapped around her. She was also draped in a blanket and had her arms cuddled around a torso.  
The events of last night slowly came back to her and she identified the comfy loose clothing she was wearing as Klaus' and sure enough, when she opened her sleepy eyes and looked up, he was the one holding her. She sensed that he'd been watching her sleep for some time. It was one of those romantic things that guys did in movies but never did in real life. The leading man adored the leading lady so much and was so smitten with her that he just had to gaze at her beautiful face at rest. But this was no movie and yet, he was doing it anyway.  
"How long have I been out?" her voice came out more raspy than she'd thought it would.  
"It's morning." Klaus eased back a tendril of hair that had fallen in her face.  
Their eyes locked and tentatively, Caroline extended up and kissed him. The same kind of kiss they had in the woods. A light feathery one. It just wasn't enough for her though. She kissed him again but this time she shifted to straddle him and crushed her lips to his. The mood was changing at lightning speed.  
Klaus only skipped a millisecond before he grabbed her thighs and anchored her in place over him. The pressure of him angled in, between her legs was sending flashes of heat through her lower stomach and he placed a hand just above her butt to keep snuggly in place.  
_Holy shit_ she thought right before she bit down on his lip. She could feel his cocky smile. His other hand coming up to the back of her head and deepening the kiss. It became more forceful and desperate. He'd wanted her for so long and she had tried to deny her feelings for so long. The combination just exploded in this collision course.  
Caroline couldn't help moving her hips. It was an animal driven instinct when in this position. She heard him hiss a moan and he trusted himself to her where they were already so snug. Her nails dug into the coarse short curls at the back of his neck and opened her mouth even wider to him.  
There was only so much of this a man could take. Suddenly, he jutted them both up off the couch and the tumbled to the floor with him on top. Caroline felt like such a wanton hussy when she wrapped her legs around his hips. He braced himself with his arms on either side of her and thrust with his hips again and even through clothing, it was driving them both mad. It was only a matter of time before the clothes were off.  
"And _you_ judge _me_?!"  
Caroline angled her head up to see an upside down Elena and Damon standing just inside the big parlor. Klaus let out a stifled groan as he stopped his roaming hands and helped Caroline up.  
"All this time, you're like 'Elena, how could you fall for Damon? Elena, you're just sired. Elena, how could you?!' and now look at _you_!"  
Damon steadied a hand on her arm.  
"If it's any conciliation, I was always fine with you two being together. I was actually quite intrigued by the sire bond between two vampires." Klaus voiced. Elena just looked at him annoyed and then back to her friend who's waist had an arm snaked around it from behind.  
"He's just- well, he's..." Caroline was trying to explain it to a very pissed off Elena. "He can- er, he's so..." She couldn't get anything out, not after he'd just completely scrambled her brain with all his touching. "He's-" she cut off again, agitated.  
"Aw, you too, Love." Klaus smiled as he swiftly kissed her cheek and took joy at squeezing her hip from behind, making her jump.  
"Just stop touching me!" Caroline's inner drama queen reared it's head. If he kept it up, she'd squeal and beg for more. And Elena's raised brow was more than she could take.  
"So," Klaus began, stepping from behind her, and clasping his hands formally behind his back, "what is it that brings you two to _our_ little neck of the woods" he slowed the word 'our' down a bit giving Caroline a side glance.  
"Stefan." Elena said.  
"What _about_ me?" Elena and Damon whirled around as Caroline and Klaus careened to see as well. Stefan stood just inside the main door.  
His face was a mask, all seriousness with flat lined lips.  
"Ste-"He interrupted Elena.  
"Klaus, Professor Shane just called me. He can help us get the cure."  
At the same time, Elena and Klaus said the same sentence with one variation "I don't _need_ the cure." came from him and "I don't _want_ the cure" came from her. Caroline and Damon gave both the others very confounded looks. "What?!" They said in unison with Stefan...

*** Finally figured out how to add chapters thanks to a very helpful comment. This is a bit shorter than I wanted but I came up with a twist that didn't fit into a more drawn out chapter. working on the next one at the moment. Very tricky...


	5. Chapter 5

After about ten minutes of several different conversations overlapping one another and no one really getting anywhere, they were all sitting in a kind of circle around the fire. Stefan leaning back in a chair with no arms to the left of the fireplace, one leg crossed over resting on the other with his arms crossed. Klaus sat on one end of the couch closest to him, elbows on knees, hands clasped. Caroline was a cushion away from Klaus resting with her legs up on the couch, one elbow situated on the leather padded arm to support her weight, head leaning on her hand. And then, on the right side of the fireplace sat Damon and Elena. Elena comfortably sitting in the chair while Damon crouched on the arm of it, resting _his_ arm on the chair's back.  
Everyone was in silence until Damon piped up. "What are we suppose to do now? Sing kumbaya?" All except Klaus shot him a look and he held up his hands in a way that said 'never mind'.  
"Alright, let's straighten all this out" Klaus peered up at Elena. "Why do you _not_ want the cure?" He asked.  
"Because I don't think it's necessary. I've already proven that the sire bond doesn't affect how I feel about Damon. Plus, if the cure works and I take it, I would just want to establish that I'm still the same person and then be turned again but by someone I wasn't in love with. That way, I can still be with Damon." She said but then added, "But since I don't know of anyone who's been cured and then turned again, I don't know if there are any side effects or consequences. So, no, I don't want it."  
Klaus nodded, understanding.  
"And I love Elena no matter what form she comes in so I'll stand by her choice." Damon looked to his brown haired girl.  
Klaus nodded again. "Stefan?" He looked to his left.  
Stefan took a deep breath and huffed it out. "I want her to have the cure." He gave no explanation.  
"Because you're hoping it will change me back to who I was. Hoping that it will take away my feelings for Damon and it's really the only way you can love me, right?" Elena said on the defensive. "I loved Damon before the transition so nothing would change."  
"It's okay, we know that." Damon brushed a hair through her hair.  
"Caroline?" Klaus turned attention to her.  
"I just want my friend back. Because the sire bond and vampirism _has_ changed her." She said with classic Caroline attitude. Elena made a mental note to tell Caroline what had happened at the lake house.  
"And," Klaus added, "I wanted the cure before to make more hybrids but look how that turned out. It's no secret that I just wanted loyalty and to be surrounded by people I could trust." Caroline looked at him with pity, reached out and took his hand. "As it is now, I don't think I want to go that route any longer." His gaze slid to the woman who's hand was covering his. "However, if it's what Caroline wants, I'm willing to do what I can."  
"Alright." It was Stefan. "So Elena doesn't want the cure and Damon sides with her. Caroline and I do want it for her and Klaus sides with us." He summed up.  
"What does Professor Shane have to do with all this? He seems pretty invested." Elena said, repeating an earlier concern.  
"Oh, yes, that." came the british voice in the room. "His real name is Silas." He said this as simply as if he were telling them they could make a sandwich with two slices of bread. All heads snapped up, remembering the story Professor Shane was so fond of reciting. Caroline looked at Klaus with guarded curiosity. "I'm not left without a few tricks and secrets up my sleeve, Love." Caroline raised her eyebrows slightly as she took that in.  
"But he told me that Silas was buried with the cure," said Elena.  
"Well us long lived immortals aren't always so forthcoming now are we?" Klaus gripped Caroline's hand a little more firm to reassure her that this didn't apply to them. "My guess is that the cure is really buried with the woman he loved. And as all of us in this room know, love is a powerful thing. And a very powerful motivator."  
"And what about this other witch that helped him and betrayed him then, this, uh, Kehtsia?" Damon pronounced the name he'd heard.  
"A mystery, even to me." Klaus leaned back. "I assume she preformed the immortality spell on herself and is around somewhere."  
Damon's eyes narrowed still focused on Shane's story. "What about when he said that Silas or him, rather, was powerless?"  
"I suspect that may be true."  
"Which is why he would need Bonnie," Elena pieced together. "Caroline, what kind of magic did she say he was teaching her?"  
"Uh, 'expression'," the blonde replied. To this, Damon and Stefan straightened and shot one another a look.  
"What?" The girls asked in unison. Klaus' look, if anyone would have noticed, was once of understanding. He'd heard of this kind of magic before.  
Stefan looked to Caroline. "Call Bonnie."  
"Now." Damon added intensely.  
"What? Why?"  
"You have to tell her to stop practicing this magic. We heard about it in New Orleans. It's infinitely worse than black magic."  
"Now," Damon repeated but with more urgency.  
Caroline looked to Klaus and he nodded so she whipped out her phone and dialed the witch.  
"Bonnie, where are you?... Okay, listen, get to Klaus'... Yes, Klaus'. Stefan, Elena, Damon, Klaus and I are all here. Listen you have to stop practicing that magic you've been learning immediately and get over here... It's _important_, Bonnie... Jeremy?" Caroline looked to the others.  
Klaus shook his head. "No, he needs to stay with Silas so nothing's suspected."  
"Don't say anything to Jeremy. Just get over here... Okay, see you soon." She hit the 'end call' button.  
The room was silent again. Each in their own thoughts. Elena and Caroline were worried about Bonnie and what the magic may have already done to her. Stefan and Damon were both thinking about what Silas' true intentions were in all this. Klaus, however was coming up with a plan.  
"Alright," the Original began, "Step one, we find Kaetsiah." Klaus didn't need to guess at how to pronounce her name. "She'll know where the cure is buried since she's the one that did it. And she'll know how to get it out without the mark on Jeremy's arm since the spell was hers."  
"But why would we need the cure now?" Elena asked.  
"Because I'm guessing that Silas has more planned than just awakening his true love." Klaus waited for this to sink in.  
Damon added a piece to the puzzle. "Yeah, in his whole spiel at the exhibit, he mentioned that Silas wanted his powers back, to wreak havoc upon the world."  
"Ah," Klaus smiled and looked up as though he was hearing a choir. "And there it is." His eyes lowered to Damon.  
"Alright, Mr. Know-it-all, what else don't me know?" The older Salvator was a little peeved.  
"That's the thing. My family and I are the Original _vampires_ and, I the Original hybrid, but that doesn't mean we were the first _immortals." _He explained. "This all points to me not knowing much about Silas' limitations, weaknesses or abilities. If he is, as he said, truly powerless then there's still something protecting him from death. So, I suggest," He gave a look from one brother to the other one, "that you two venture back down to Louisiana, go to wherever it is you heard about 'expression' and find out more. I've heard of it but my knowledge of it's actual workings is quite incomplete, almost non-existant really."  
Damon and Stefan looked at each other with distain. They really didn't want to spend any more time together. Not after the events that had transpired between them.  
"Fine." Stefan gestured for Damon to head out first towards the car.  
"Yea, another road trip." The eldest said with empty sarcasm. Before he left, he squeezed Elena's hand, looked her square in the eyes and said, "Don't worry. We will both be fine. We'll come back and everything will work out somehow, okay?" She nodded and took a sigh of relief.  
"Thank you," she said back knowing what he'd just done for her.  
_You've got to be kidding me_. Stefan thought in disgust._ They've found a way to make the sire bond work for them.  
_Klaus smirked. He didn't have to be able to read minds to know exactly what had just happened. Damon may have started out as a very selfish vampire but his love for this one woman had turned things around. He would not use the sire bond for anything but to help her. He wouldn't betray her nor force her into anything. Stefan saw this as well and was nothing if not furious at it.  
The brothers took off and Elena, Caroline and Klaus were left there to sit and wait for Bonnie...

***If you've kept up with the story so far, I appreciate it. I hope you are still enjoying it as much as I enjoy writing it. Trust me, I will include more Klaroline and Delena romance but these two relationships still have to survive and exist through all the events surrounding them that are taking place in the actual show. Thanks for all your feedback. I love reading your comments.


	6. Chapter 6

The silence was absolutely deafening. Somewhere in the house there was a clock that ticked the seconds by. Klaus, Caroline and Elena was all sitting in the places that the Salvators had left them in 20 minutes ago. Bonnie still hadn't shown up yet but that wasn't surprising. Lord knows the girl took forever to get ready to go somewhere. When Caroline called her she had just woken up. That witch loved her beauty sleep. Not that she needed it.  
Klaus' unneeded breathes were steady as his smoldering gaze was locked on Caroline. Her toes all the way up to her beautiful blonde locks had him in the most hypnotized trance. She was still in his clothes. Even though they were baggy, he could make out her figure and it was one he couldn't wait to get his hands on again. Even though she had slept and they'd had that passionate kiss, her lip gloss was ever present. None of the windows were open but the firelight was making her mouth shimmer. Her skin was so soft to touch and to look at. Her hands delicate, folded in her lap. Her eyes sparkled and her eye lashes did the most amazing flutter when she blinked. His attentions had gone unnoticed until she looked up.  
Caroline almost gasped at the expression on Klaus' face. It was and a look of pure innocence combined with raw sexual desire. Something she'd never seen before and couldn't possibly explain. Her face heated and she made a quick glance to Elena to see if she had noticed. Luckily her friend hadn't. She was too busy staring at her phone and speedily texting. The complete focus on the digital device comforted Caroline. At least she could take in her gorgeous immortal the same way he was her without being observed.  
A million things were being said in their locked stare. She could see things he wanted to do to her, things she wanted to do to him and even wondered at the things he would know about that she'd never experienced before. Caroline knew that Klaus could take her places that had nothing to do with geography. He could push her to new extremes until she'd think she couldn't take anymore. What a woman she would become if this continued with him. Life times could pass and she would evolve into something more than a small town 18 year old girl. He already saw so much in her that intrigued him which amazed her. The fact that she could capture this man who had seen and seduced thousands of women, this man who had been everywhere in the world, seen cultures that were long lost. How would they grow from this point on if they were to grow together? Somehow, she knew she could change him and knew that he would change her. For better or worse, she had no idea but what a wonderful thing it would be to find out. Could anyone resist opening this pandora's box?  
Klaus' head shot up and Elena's name erupted from his previously silent mouth.  
"Yeah," Elena's head poped up as if she'd been caught doing something she shouldn't.  
"I've completed some new art pieces that I would love to show Caroline. Would you mind waiting here for when Bonnie arrives?"  
"Sure. Uh, yeah, sure. No problem."  
Caroline's eyes narrowed. Why was her friend so jumpy? What had been on that phone of hers?  
There wasn't much time to ponder that though because Klaus smiled wide, took her hand and led her towards the room filled with his beautiful art but just before they got there, he veered to the stairs and climbed them two at a time with her on his heels.  
_I just __**knew**__ he was up to this_, Caroline thought.  
At the top of the stairs, Klaus backed her into a wall and began kissing her, looking at her as though she was a steak and he was the most hungry lion in the Sahara.  
"Hey!" She whispered. "She's going to hear us." Caroline was referring to Elena.  
"Love, she is much too engaged to bother with perking up those vampiric ears."  
"With what?"  
He laughed. "I'm not exactly sure but I'm assuming it has something to do with Damon. Did you see her face?" He laughed.  
"Well-" Caroline was cut off by another kiss. God, she could do this forever. If she needed to breathe, she'd be dead by now. He stole all the air that human lungs would have needed.  
Slowly he released her lips and looked at her as though he was hunting her. A finger rested a little above her chest as he pressed her backwards through the hall a little. After her feet started moving in reverse, he was walking forward, stalking her. She knew that if she turned and ran he would chase. Lust mixed with danger was written all over his face. She kept backing up. Into a room.  
The back of Carolines knees unexpectedly ran into the side of a bed that sent her tumbling down on her back. In no time at all, Klaus followed her down and pinned her to the mattress. For what felt like forever he just stared at her.  
This was too much. She couldn't take this. She wet her lips, grabbed his collar and dragged him down to meet them.  
"Why on earth did I hold out on this for so long?" She rasped.  
"Beats me," Klaus responded between kisses. He trailed nips along her jaw and then let his tongue travel down the vein in her neck that wasn't pumping blood.  
_There it is_, Caroline thought,_ the heightened sensation_.  
Everything he was doing felt like an explosion. She never wanted him to stop. Never wanted him to look away or even ease off a fraction of an inch. His hand traveled down until he cuped her between her thighs and she thought she was going to die. And, oh, what a happy death it would be. His hand started massaging and the friction was out of this world. How did he do this to her? She desperately wanted to feel his skin against hers but even with layers between them, he was driving her to madness.  
Without warning, Caroline was shocked by cold; a lack of heat. She opened her eyes and saw that Klaus had stood up off the mattress and was looking down on her with a satisfied, devilish smile.  
"What are you doing?" She said breathlessly. "Get back here."  
He slightly chuckled. "No, Love. I'm going to make you wait for it." His tone even felt like a soft stroke to her skin. "Just as I did." And with that he left the room.  
Caroline was stunned. "Uh, What just happened?" She said to herself.

Meanwhile...  
Sitting in the living room, Elena was completely flushed. Stefan was driving on the guys' way to Louisiana. He must be because Damon was texting her. The most explicit things were coming to her inbox. Things he had only said to her when they'd been in the throws at the boarding house along with somethings he hadn't said.  
Over a century and a half had taught this devastatingly fantastic man some of the most dirty phrases that almost made her orgasm just reading them. How was that even possible? She did her best to respond in kind.  
_Oh my god_, She thought. _Am I actually 'sexting' right now?_  
A picture even came through that made her eyes widen as huge as golf balls. How in the world was he able to snap a shot of _that_ and send it to her without Stefan knowing? Had they made pit stop? Nothing Elena hadn't seen before of course but now she was transfixed. She could look at this image any time she wanted now.  
_Shit, I might have to change my underwear!_ But there were none for her to change into.  
Elena was about to put a hand down there to ease her frustrations when she heard Bonnie walk in. Not 3 seconds later, the witch skipped into the room.  
"Bonnie," Klaus said coming out of nowhere. "Glad you could join us."  
Elena wasn't sure where he and Caroline had gone off to, what they did or where the Mystic queen was now but Klaus seemed to be extremely satisfied and jovial about something.  
Bonnie nodded, still not comfortable around him. "Alright, what's going on?" She asked.  
Elena was about to open her mouth when Klaus spoke. "Oh, don't trouble yourself. You're busy. I'll fill her in." He winked and sat down with Bonnie talking her through it all...

***Hang in there guys, full on sexy parts are on their way...


	7. Chapter 7

Elena had turned her phone off. Sitting in a room with Klaus and Bonnie, she couldn't take Damon's ridiculously worded texts. She simply told him that should he need to get ahold of her-_ God, that phrase alone is making me jittery,_ she thought- he would have to call one of the others. If she had known that a relationship with him would be like this she wouldn't have stayed with Stefan for so long. Sure, Stefan was the good guy (for the most part). He did was what "right" and always respected her choices. He always treated her the way a boyfriend should. In it's own way, their time together had been innocent. Something every teenage girl should experience. That first love that teaches you how to look at the world. The person that opens your eyes and helps you with that transition from girlhood to womanhood.  
Now that she was a woman, however, the High School boyfriend just wouldn't cut it. She definitely wasn't the cheerleader anymore and she didn't fit with a guy that at 165 wanted to play for the football team. Now that she actually thought about it, it all seemed absurd. Stefan hadn't just enrolled in classes to be near her and get to know her. That would have been easily accomplished without piling on classes of subjects that he already was an expert in. The answer wasn't complicated. Stefan wanted to relive High School. He did that for himself. That environment would seem more attractive after you've aged and know how to handle it all. No drama. No emotions running rampant and making you feel like the world is ending. Feeling in control is something everyone wants and in a place of people much younger than him, he had ultimate control.  
Damon never wasted his time with that but her guess was that it was because he looked too old. She didn't believe him however that he didn't go to college. He liked to make everyone think that he was a bad boy. What would ruin that image? Knowing that he'd actually attended and graduated from a University. He might even have a few degrees under his belt if for nothing else than a secret desire to better himself.  
"Right, so I can't practice magic in the conventional way because the spirits forced me out after using black magic. And I can't practice expression... So, what can I do? How can I help?" Bonnie was asking.  
"At your core, Bonnie, you're still a mystical being. There is magic in you yet. Nothing can take that away." Klaus explained.  
"Okay but how do I access that?"  
"I've seen it done before. It takes a lot of inner strength. It's more of a mental process than a draw on spiritual or earthly elements. My mother was a witch. She was born with an ability that she couldn't explain. Her gift was raw and unsculpted so she drew small amounts of power from within her own soul."  
Bonnie really didn't like the last part. "Not to worry, it didn't damage her in any shape or form. She didn't lose her soul to the devil if that's what you're thinking. Imagine that you've been using ready made shells and firing them at will but now you only have coarse gun powder. Over time it can become beautifully refined."  
"And short term?" She asked.  
"Short term, it will be weak and of little use but not to worry." He smiled and joked: "With all of us being such a merry band of heros and all that, we shouldn't need your assistance."  
Bonnie looked discouraged and annoyed.  
"Don't worry," Elena said. "You can help in other ways."  
"Like how?"  
"I'm not sure but what I do know is that everything will be okay somehow."  
"Ah, the sire bond rears it's head once again." Caroline had entered the room. "The cool calm collected Elena, all thanks to Damon."  
"Well at least I'm not freaking out. That wouldn't help anyone." Elena reasoned  
Caroline huffed.  
"Caroline, she really does love Damon." Bonnie put an intermission to their catty banter.  
"She's Sir-"  
"Yes, Care, she's sired to him but he _ordered_ her to leave him and she wouldn't. I saw it. So did Jeremy."  
"That's impossible," Klaus interjected.  
"Oh yeah?" Bonnie asked. "Says the man who's hybrids unsired themselves."  
"Yes, they unsired themselves by undoing the one thing that garnered me their loyalty. But there is no way to unsire a vampire to vampire bond because it's created out of something quite different. And while sired, there's no way Elena could have defied an order that Damon gave her."  
Bonnie looked at Elena but Elena swooped a hand to Klaus as if to say "You go ahead and explain it."  
"I was getting in the car and Damon was about to get her in as well after telling her to leave him and just live her life. That's when it happened. It was like Elena was drawing upon something inside of her to override her body's physical lead. But it wasn't just will power. That wouldn't be enough. It wouldn't be enough for a lot of things so what she was latching onto was a lot more pure. It was love, Klaus." She explained. "Elena grappled herself to part of the porch, almost brought down the whole thing with her strength. She fought. With everything she had. Until finally it got through to Damon that the sire bond hadn't created her love for him. Not only did she love him on her own, but it was incredibly powerful."  
Caroline was silent, leaning one side of her body against a wall listening to Bonnie's recall. Her arms folded across her midsection. She had never liked Damon. After turning and remembering the things he had done to her, she would never forgive him. But she had to admit that the sight of him looking at Elena showed that there was more to him. He may have done despicable and unspeakable things but he did love her friend. He loved her above all else, even himself. Caroline had to admit that Damon hadn't just been on a conquest like it was his mission before. When she found out that he and Elena slept together she couldn't argue that there was nothing sinister about it. At the time Damon wasn't aware of the sire bond and so he couldn't have known or thought that he was controlling her. And now, Caroline realized that he hadn't been. Elena made the choice to be with him all on her own. That was what she wanted. Even after finding out that she was sired to him, she didn't care. Tyler had been furious about his bond and tried everything he could to get out of it. The only time he ever did anything was when given explicit instructions by Klaus. Caroline highly doubted that Damon looked at Elena and said "Sleep with me and act like you enjoy it." The thought made her laugh out loud.  
"What?" Elena asked.  
"I just... I get it now, okay? I saw the way he was with you so if you don't want to take the cure and don't mind being binded to him then I'm alright with that." She then looked to Klaus. "But we still have to find it though, right?"  
"Yes, Sweetheart. Not only could it become useful later for other purposes but there must be something with it that Silas wants to regain his powers and if his stories are any indication, I suggest that we do everything we can to get to it first."  
"What would you want it for?" Caroline asked him. "I mean, if you're not going to use it, why keep it?"  
"Why keep the art that I have? Why would the Salvators keep all their records and books? Why would Alaric have kept a stash of weapons that were no good for killing vampires?... Why would you keep hold of that drawing I made you, or that dress and bracelet? You never know when something might come in handy or prove sentimental. So, it's always good to collect things from time to time."  
She got the point and didn't miss the looks her friends gave her at Klaus' mention of his gifts.  
"Though, in all my literature and knowledge there's little to be found on your professor."  
"Then how do you know he's Silas?" Bonnie asked.  
"Am I the only one not caught up in their own drama?" He flicked a gaze around at them all. "If any of you had the sense to look around once in a while- sorry love-" he added to Caroline, "then you would pick up on a lot of things. For instance, Damon put together that Silas was in contact with the pastor right before he killed himself and eleven other council members making twelve. Then there just happen to be twelve hybrids that Tyler leads to their death. Matching numbers tend to be very ritualistic. Am I correct, Bonnie?"  
She nodded.  
"Twelve is the number of that which is completed," Klaus went on, "which forms a whole, a perfect and harmonious unit. In ancient civilizations, like Oriental and Judaic, it corresponds to the plenitude, the completion and the integrality of a thing. It expresses the idea that the Universe forms a whole. Represents the manifestation of the Trinity, a pagan symbol," he added, flicking a gaze to Bonnie, "to the four corners of the horizon - 3 X 4. Simply put, the number twelve can be found in many places throughout the span of time because of it's many uses. So now, you see, we have two sets of deaths. A group of humans and a group of hybrids. The Hybrids, however, cover two species. Vampire and werewolf. So really a _trinity_ grouping of deaths or shall I say '_sacrifices'_"  
Elena, Caroline and Bonnie all listened with fascination.  
"It could just be coincidence." Caroline shrugged after a bit.  
Klaus looked to Bonnie and Bonnie addressed Caroline. "There are no Coincidences."  
"Alright," Elena added, "What other observations?"  
Klaus took a deep breath and continued. "Alright, let's see, there's also the vast amounts of knowledge that our supposedly young professor has. Intriguing, don't you think, that a man of his apparent age would know about infinite amounts of loor, have an intimate familiarity with a kind of witch craft that even I know very little about? The same man who doesn't seem to practice magic himself and talks of a legend about a man without mystical power. hmm, what else?" He mused. "Ah, and Hayley." Caroline flinched. "Now, there's a werewolf that I normally wouldn't pay any attention to yet she seemed to have found Tyler when he left for a spell. She helped him unsire himself, a technique which a werewolf shouldn't know anything about. She was conveniently absent when I killed the hybrids. Oh, yes, and she was awfully chummy with Mr. Shane at the Miss Mystic pageant."  
_Holy crap_. Every single one of the girls was thinking.  
_Well there's a puppet master for ya_, Caroline thought recalling her thoughts from yesterday._ I knew I was onto something. I was right. We did need Klaus. __**I**__ need Klaus...  
_"You're..." Elena began.  
"Amazing" Caroline said in breathy awe but then was embarrassed for saying it allowed.  
"Oh I know." Klaus smiled with that ever present twinkle when he was pleased and feeling humorous.  
"There is one more thing," Bonnie spoke.  
Klaus arched an eyebrow in her direction.  
"Jeremy."  
"What about him?" Elena asked.  
"Once the mark is complete, you would think that Shane, I mean Silas, wouldn't need him anymore after the drawing of the mark is revealed to him but..." She was in thought.  
"But what, Bonnie? Spit it out." Caroline, always to the point.  
"Well, it's just that Silas has taken an interest in not just Jeremy's training and ability to kill Vampires-"  
"He's also very curious about Jeremy's interests, his family, his life. Curious overall, actually." Elena helped.  
"Yeah." the witch agreed. "Like he doesn't plan on being finished with Jeremy at all. And he didn't have to help him with not killing Elena, finding the so called 'detour'. It's like he doesn't only want Jeremy to complete the mark but also be able to control his abilities afterward."  
Klaus was trying to keep his smile and chuckling quiet but couldn't seem to contain it.  
"What an ingenious group of monters I've created," and held out his hand to Caroline. She was reluctant until he said, "It's alright, Love. It's no secret to Elena and what's not secret to her won't stay secret from Bonnie."  
Caroline accepted his hand and allowed herself to be cuddled in his arms on the couch. Bonnie gave an observant look and then shrugged. "Well, Elena's now a vampire and with Damon, Jeremy's a Vampire Hunter, I'm a powerless witch so why not have my other best friend give into the attentions of a cradle-robbing, mass murdering psycho? Okay, okay, former mass murdering psycho" She added when she saw all their looks. "Hopefully," she murmured under her breath...

***And what is happening to the Salvator brothers on their journey to Louisiana? You'll find out...


	8. Chapter 8

"Stop being such a child, Caroline!"  
"Only if you stop being such a decrepit neanderthal pig!"  
Damon was shocked at how Bonnie's phone was picked up. He could barely hear her say "Hi" before the shouts of Caroline and Klaus took over in the background.  
"Wha-?"  
"Can't hear you." Bonnie sing-songed in bordem. Apparently the current situation wasn't new.  
"I've lived for millennia, Love! What did you expect?!" Klaus roared.  
Bonnie huffed a sigh.  
"Not that!" a little silence and then: "Oh! You think _that's_ the way to fix this?! Keep your hands off of mmm..." Caroline's voice was swallowed by something that Damon couldn't hear and then came the low muffled sound of Klaus' deeper tone but the words were inaudible.  
Bonnie snorted a laugh. "You're not gonna fall for that line, are you Care?!" She said loudly to Caroline.  
"Something tells me she is," Elena cackled.  
"What is going on?!" Damon yelled.  
"Caroline made the mistake of asking how many women Klaus has been with and Klaus made the mistake of answering _honestly_." The girls were cracking up at the whole thing.  
Now Damon had caught on.  
Elena's laughter in the background was warming but then the shouting started up again.  
"- I suppose to do?!" Klaus' indignant question became clear towards the end.  
"I don't know," Caroline started in, "Maybe you shoul-"  
She kept going but Damon wanted to talk to Elena so he asked Bonnie to hand her the phone as loud as he could. Stefan was listening to the entire conversation or lack there of beside him. Elena's laughing got closer to the phone and he could tell she was holding it but hadn't said anything yet.  
"Elena?" Damon asked, just not loud enough.  
"I know, right?" She was saying. "After a fight like this, the makeup sex should rock the entire house." She was still giggling with Bonnie.  
"There won't **_be_** any makeup sex," Caroline had turned her yelling towards Elena, "because Mr. Slut-bag-man-whore over here refuses to sleep with me in the**_ first_** place!"  
"Slut-bag-man-whore? Really, Caroline?" Klaus was clearly appalled. "And do the words 'foreplay' and 'anticipation' mean anything to you?!"  
"Yeah, they mean that if a_ perv_ like _you_ won't put out, something must be seriously _wrong_ with _me_!" Caroline was challenging him to insult her. Damon could hear that coming. That little blonde vampire was much too good at picking fights and driving people to madness._ Such a Drama Queen_, Damon thought.  
"There's_ something_ wrong with you."  
"WHAT?!"  
"Alright!" Klaus sounded like he'd made a decision. "Fine! Have it your way!"  
"Let go of me! Put me down!" Caroline was squealing but her voice sounded cut off somehow as though she didn't have much air. Then there were some thuds and crashes but they sounded further away.  
"You think she needs help?" Damon hear Bonnie ask Elena.  
"Nah, she was doing that on purpose. You've seen her do it before." Elena reminded.  
"Elena!"  
She finally heard her name coming from the phone and responded "What?!" As if Damon had been completely unreasonable in trying to get her attention. "You don't have to yell at me, Damon."  
_You love your girlfriend, you love your girlfriend_, Damon was repeating over and over in his mind.  
"Okay," he began slow and calm, "I just wanted to let you know that we are almost there and I will check in in a few hours."  
"You don't have to talk slow like that, Damon, I'm not mentally handicapped. And is that _all_ you called for?" Elena was calm just as he'd helped her be but she was very unenthusiastic about talking to him and hearing that he was still okay and not in a death match with Stefan.  
"Well," Damon took a moment to search for words. Yet all that came out was "Yeah." He took a breath. "Elena?"  
"Yes?" She sounded a little annoyed.  
"Turn on your phone."  
"Why?"  
"I think you need to look at that picture again." and with that, Damon hung up with a cocky grin. He knew full well that as soon as she gave Bonnie back the witch's phone that she would dig out her own, turn it on and all her attention would be solely on one thing: him. This sire bond was kind of fun. _That's the last time I abuse it though_, he thought, _for a while anyway._  
"What picture were you talking about?" Stefan asked, still stone-faced.  
"Nothing that would make your mood any better."  
"Would it make it worse?"  
"Might." Damon faned an interest in the sky.

Back at Klaus'...  
Elena tossed her phone at a wall with vamp force and speed making it shatter and causing Bonnie to snap to.  
"Something on there ya didn't like?" She asked Elena with caution.  
"I looked at it," Elena said satisfied. "Now, the phone's in hundreds of pieces and I don't have to anymore." She smiled and seemed very pleased with herself.  
"Yes," Bonnie said baffled, "phone's are horrible to look at...?"  
"Don't worry about it." Elena assured her. "Just some kinks to work out in a sire bond challenged relationship."  
"Yeah?"  
"Yeah."  
Another boom and several crashes, even sounds of walls cracking and something being thrown out a window came from above where they were both sure Klaus' bedroom was.  
"Are you sure she-" Bonnie started to ask.  
"Oh, she's doing_ just fine_." Elena smiled knowingly and tapped her ear.

***Short Chapter, I know, but if you're a Klaroline fan, you'll REALLY like the next one.


	9. Chapter 9

**I'm pretty sure I changed the rating but just incase it didn't work for some reason I'll warn you now- this is for MATURE readers ONLY. Please do NOT continue if you are under 18. Thank you.

"Stop being such a child, Caroline!"  
"Only if you stop being such a decrepit neanderthal pig!"  
Caroline was furious. When she asked him about how many women he'd been with she thought that surely he would give her back a romantic non-answer that would make her not care and they would be perfectly happy. Instead, he had stood there calculating. At first she thought it was just a joke but the longer he thought about it, the more she realized that he was serious. He was actually trying to tally up how many it had been. After what seemed like forever, he gave her a ballpark figure since there was absolutely no way he could know that exact number, he explained.  
"I've lived for millennia, Love! What did you expect?!" Klaus roared.  
"Not that!" She yelled when he started to walk towards her. His hand gently began to caress her neck as he moved in close. "Oh! You think _that's_ the way to fix this?! Keep your hands off of mmm..." His mouth was on hers and god it felt good. All he had to do was touch her and she melted. Heaven help her. Before, when she had avoided him and trampled on all his advances, she had been safe. She'd not realized what she'd been skirting around. Caroline had been shielding herself from more than she knew. But, oh how she knew it now.  
"A high number, yes, but one that taught me how to love _you_, how to appreciate you, how to let you into my heart and be the man you deserve. Not to mention, I know more than any man alive how to make you slip into heaven and back" he murmured.  
_Oh God_, She thought.  
"You're not gonna fall for that line, are you Care?!" Bonnie said from the couch in the other room. Apparently they could be heard even by human ears.  
"Something tells me she is," Elena cackled.  
Klaus was looking deep into her eyes with a silent plea. One that she almost gave into.  
"Ha, no." Caroline shoved him away from her. "You're the one that couldn't control himself!"  
"What was I suppose to do?!"  
"I don't know. Maybe you should have had some semblance of a thing called standards." She was putting every bit of attitude into this knowing full well that there was nothing that pissed people off more. And Klaus was no exception.  
"After a fight like this, the makeup sex should rock the entire house." Elena was laughing with Bonnie.  
"There won't **_be_** any makeup sex," Caroline had turned her yelling on her friend, "because Mr. Slut-bag man-whore over here refuses to sleep with me in the**_ first_** place!"  
"Slut-bag man-whore? Really, Caroline?" Klaus was clearly appalled, his eyebrows contorting on his face. "And do the words 'foreplay' and 'anticipation' mean anything to you?!" His nostrils were flaring. Damn that was hot.  
"Yeah, they mean that if a_ perv_ like _you_ won't put out, something must be seriously _wrong_ with _me_!" Caroline was challenging him to insult her. She was riling him up and it was almost too easy.  
"There's_ something_ wrong with you." he grumbled.  
"WHAT?!"  
Klaus took a deep breath all through his nose, and looked up at her from below his brow meaningfully with the most murderous, determined glare.  
"Alright!" Klaus sounded like he'd made a decision. "Fine! Have it your way!"  
He rushed at her even faster than normal vamp speed and she couldn't get away. Not before he grabbed her up in fireman carry and began stomping towards the stairs.  
"Let go of me! Put me down!" She squealed with limited lung capacity for drawing on for her speech. Her blonde hair was hanging in her face and she couldn't see.  
He was being so barbaric but she was getting a secret thrill out of it. One arm was braced at the back of her knees to keep her in place over his shoulder and the other was splayed over her butt. When he smacked it, she could not have been more shocked nor more thrilled.  
"Hey!" She did her best to complain.  
"If you insist on acting like a child, I'm going to treat you like one." He said, tight lipped.  
When they returned to his room, he slammed her up against a wall. "But not completely. I'm a creative man, Caroline." He whispered in this most calm and threatening way. "You are indeed a woman and I'll be punishing you as befit of that as well."  
He whirled her around and pressed himself into her back as her fists cracked the call. Her wrists we grabbed and her hands were forced above her head to press palm down to the wall. Slowly and roughly, his hands slid down them to her shoulders and then to her hips and she couldn't help but tear her fingers through the wall and yank down in her frustration. Suddenly she wasn't facing a wall anymore but rather into it since she'd demolished the dry wall in front of her.  
Klaus grabbed her hips and thrust against her from behind eliciting a powerful scream from Caroline. With incredible strength she shoved him back, grabbed a night stand and flung it whizzing past his head, crashing through a window. He'd followed the piece of furniture with his eyes and when his head spun back around he looked entertained and excited.  
Caroline ran to attack him but he caught her and threw her into one of the posts of the bed, effectively breaking it. Before it could fall, she grabbed all 5 feet of it like a spear with it's pointed end and spiralled it at him as easily as someone would hurl a dart. Klaus ducked and crouched down right before he sprung himself toward her. As he would have tackled her, she dropped her back to the floor and kicked up with her legs to send the airborne hybrid flying into the ceiling effectively sending pieces of plaster everywhere.  
When he dropped down, he flung off his shirt and she saw his half vampire, half werewolf eyes. His fangs erupted and so did hers.  
Caroline bit her bottom lip with one fang and slowly let it out as her own blood dripped down her canine and looked seductively at him. They cautiously stepped closer to one another and he bent down to lick what had trickled down her chin. He then returned to her lip to suck out what he could before her lip healed.  
Klaus drug a nail across the skin on his chest, drawing his own blood and guided her head to it. As she hungrily cleaned him of every last bit, he was losing control.  
Tearing his shirt off of her was easy and the fact that she had no bra was very pleasing to him. Without warning, she launched herself onto him and wrapped her legs around his hips. Klaus grabbed her butt and back to keep her firmly in place as they began frantically kissing. He spanked her again and she gave a part moan part squeal into his mouth. She was whining in_ desperation_ and he was growling in _frustration_.  
They found their way to the bed and fumbled each other's pants off. He teased her with kisses all along her ribs and finally she said "Oh, just stop!"  
Klaus was confused but not for long.  
She shoved him on his back and plunged herself onto him. It was so sudden that he had to take a moment to gather his wits. No woman had ever done this to him. In all his crusades and conquests, not one woman, even vampire had dared handle him this way. They always waited to see what he wanted and what he would do. But Caroline was putting all of herself into it. None of his past experiences could have prepared him for her and he couldn't wait to tell her so... after they were done with this anyway.  
Her hips rotated wildly as she rode him and all he could to was trust up into her, matching her movements. _Had she done this with Tyler?_ He hated the thought and pushed it away.  
Unnecessary gasps for breath and he then flipped their positions so that he was on top. Klaus grabbed the back of one of her knee, pulled it behind him and slammed back into her, a whimper of delight coming from his beautiful blonde queen.  
Her hands gripped his back as he went slow and deep.  
Caroline was, as Klaus had put it, slipping into heaven. This was so much better than anything she'd experienced before. His lips felt just as good as they looked. They could be soft and light or devastatingly harsh and demanding. This wasn't the stupid teenager sex that she'd been use to. The whole having sex just to be doing it. No, this was having sex because doing anything else felt like torture. She could feel his corse, light hair with her fingertips, brushed against his stubble and achingly ran her hands along his strong biceps as he continued his slow, flexed grind into her.  
"Just..." She whimpered.  
"Just what?" His eyes were intense when she opened hers.  
"Now." Caroline answered.  
"Tell me what you want, Love. I'll not deny you anything."  
She grabbed his butt forcing him into her faster and communicated her desire.  
"Ah, I see." His eyes were still on hers and looked back and forth from one of her eyes to the other and she knew he was gearing up.  
He began going faster and faster. Each time, it was like she was becoming permanently his. He was branding her and she doubted that it would ever feel like this with anyone else.  
The room had long since disappeared as had the two girls downstairs. Nothing mattered. The world consisted only of Caroline and Klaus and the rhythm they now rocked the almost completely destroyed bed with.  
The more he drove into her, the more she passionately fought back to make him as madly deteriorating as she was. Little did she know, he was right there with her. He had no more effect than she did. They were matched.  
It didn't take long for her to climb. Higher and higher. It was getting close and then it burst all across her body. It was lightning and liquid fire. Shooting from where they were joined, all across her body, not an inch missed.  
Caroline's scream was music to Klaus' ears and let him know that he could let go as well. He yelled her name but she couldn't hear him. He kept going and they rode out the waves of it together. Her legs were shaking and every part of her body felt weak and warm. He was now rocking gently in and out. The glorious explosion was now being massaged to last and run through her, over and over just like the ocean wading in and out on the shore.  
Caroline was coming down and without any warning Klaus sped up again and used one hand to put exquisit pressure on her lower abdomen, his thumb expertly working her clit at rapid fire.  
_Oh. My. GOD!_ Caroline thought. _It's coming again!  
_And it was. Even though her body had been sated and had been ready to calm down, he had geared it up again. This time, it was so quick as if it had just been waiting in line. It was hot and feverish just like the last one. To hear Caroline's scream of pleasure, you would think someone was killing her.  
Coming down from that one, she was incoherent. Seeing stars and a hazy image of Klaus barely supporting himself atop her. She realized she was extremely wet and if she hadn't known better, she would have thought she peed on herself.  
He rolled over and she followed, laying half on him, splaying one arm across his chest. Her eyes drifted shut and a lazy grin spread on her face.  
"From the first moment I saw you, I imagined this." He let out, very pleased.  
"You called me 'Love' even then." Caroline remembered dreamily when he'd made Tyler take Elena's blood. "But I've heard you call other people that."  
"Sure but not like I do with you. You can hear the difference in it, can't you?"  
"Yes." She sounded drowsy.  
"Caroline?" He asked.  
"Hmm?"  
Klaus took a deep breath. And then: "I love you," he whispered but she had already drifted to sleep...

*** Just a few more Chapters to go. I'm sure you're wondering where Tyler's been and how Damon and Stefan are doing not to mention what will happen with Silas. It's all coming...


	10. Chapter 10

It turned out to be a rainy afternoon. Elena's ears were picking up on the drops landing on the roof. The sound was comforting. Something simple that had always been in her life. Bonnie had fallen asleep on the couch and from the lack of noise upstairs, she guessed that Caroline and Klaus had done the same thing. Their romping around had gone on for a decent amount of time. Elena had tried to focus on Bonnie and hold a conversation over the noise so that she didn't know every little detail of the trist upstairs. Of course, she couldn't help but over hear things. Things that would be really hard not to think about when talking to either of them later. One thing she knew for sure now is that Klaus was one hell of a lover. Still evil as shit in her mind but that man had a lot of sides to him.  
Bonnie's phone rang.  
The witch didn't budge. She must have really been tired this morning when they woke her up to come. Elena grabbed it before it had another chance to ring so that her friend could continue resting.  
"Hello?" She said in a hushed tone.  
"Well, glad to hear that things have quieted down. Wait, why _are_ you so quiet?" Stefan asked.  
"Bonnie, Caroline and Klaus are asleep."  
There was a little bit of silence on the other end of the line.  
"Why is everyone asleep?"  
"It's been a long night. And morning for that matter. How are you and Damon doing?"  
"Guess that's answers my question about Damon."  
"What? What are you talking about?" Elena was confused.  
"Well, I'm in New Orleans and Damon's... not."  
_They must have broken every speed limit down there,_ she thought. "You don't know where he is?"  
"Nope. We were walking to this witch's shop and after a while I realized that he wasn't behind me anymore. I don't know. I thought he might have gone back towards you. Or called you. Something."  
Elena had enough on her mind without worrying about Damon. Why would he ditch Stefan like that? Had someone attacked him? No. Stefan would have noticed. The only way Damon could have left Stefan is on purpose.  
"Have you tried his phone?"  
Stefan made a scoffing noise. "No, Elena," he said sarcastically. "I'm just going to bipass that completely and call you."  
"Stop that. You sound like you did when you were under Klaus' control." And he did. He sounded cold and bitter. Not that she blamed him. He had a right to feel betrayed but she also had the right to be with the man she loved. Elena still had feelings for Stefan but her feelings for Damon were stronger and there was nothing that was going to change that. Stefan wanted the cure for that very reason but he couldn't make her take it and he would only get hurt worse if he could. If she took the cure, she would still choose Damon and then Stefan would feel rejected twice.  
Stefan took a deep breath. "Okay, just call his phone for me. He might answer for someone else. I don't know what's going on with him." He let out a short laugh. "I don't really know what's going on with anyone so..."  
"Alright, I'll try him." With that, Elena hung up. _What is that beautiful man up to now?  
_She called his phone several times but no answer. She left voice messages and texts and still nothing. She was in the middle of calling for the hundredth time when the front door burst open. Tyler came rampaging in.  
He looked like he was out for blood. She'd never seen this look on his face before. She'd seen most other things: happiness, anger, sadness, guilt. But not this. His eyes zeroed in on her as she was the only one he could see. Bonnie was still lying down on the couch that faced away from him and still hadn't woken up. _Jeez, what is it with her?_ Elena thought.  
"Elena?" His mission temporarily put on hold. "What are you doing here?"  
"Waiting for Stefan and Damon to come back with news of... look, there's a lot going on."  
"You're telling me?" Tyler was building back up on whatever it was that he burst in with. "Klaus slaughtered all the hybrids!"  
"I know, Tyler."  
"Where is he?!" Tyler demanded.  
"Tyler, calm down." came Caroline's voice.  
She had descended the stairs in the same pair of Klaus' pants she had on earlier but a different one of his shirts. Her wardrobe didn't go unnoticed with the young hybrid either. His eyes narrowed at the sight of her in baggy men's clothes and then eased to normal size as he seemingly came to a conclusion.  
"Oh god, Care. What happened? What did he do to you?" Tyler started heading towards her when Klaus came from behind her and stood close.  
"Nothing she didn't want done, mate."  
"Don't antagonize him," Caroline chided.  
Klaus locked eyes with him.  
"No, Caroline." Tyler said. "Don't worry about it." Something in his tone worried Elena. "I mean I guess all that talk in the locker room was true. You really are a sl-"  
Caroline gasped as Klaus moved faster than anyone could have thought. Within a split second Tyler's head was rolling on the ground and his heart was in Klaus' hand.  
Klaus gave Tyler's body a disgusted sideways glance and said, "You shouldn't talk about a lady like that, Tyler, people might react in a less than desirable manner." He sneered the last word.  
The blonde vampire was motionless staring at her ex's lifeless body on the floor. There was no sound, no tears, nothing. She was still and frozen. Klaus held up the heart for her to see.  
"The only heart he had was purely for physical purposes, Love."  
"You said you wouldn't hurt him unless he came after you again." Caroline was barely audible, even to a vampire.  
"He lashed out at _you_, Caroline. I consider them one and the same." Klaus waited but then spoke after it was clear that Caroline wouldn't. "This is me, Darling. I'm not a Salvator. I'm not going to repent for the things I've done and I'll not change how I react when someone I care for is being accosted. I'll not let a single person say what he was going to about you."  
She was shaking and Elena didn't know what to do. This was a very intimate and fragile moment.  
Klaus walked over and drew and finger down her cheek, leaving a blood streak in it's path and handed her the heart. "But maybe I can help though." he muttered before looking into Caroline's eyes. "Even though you just saw him die, for you it feels as thought he died a long time ago." Klaus was speaking very clearly and it dawned on Elena... Caroline hadn't had any Vervain since yesterday morning. None of them had.  
"You're free to move on with your life however you want." The blonde's face eased as she looked down at the heart.  
She was silent. Everything was silent and Elena began to fear that she wouldn't speak at all, that there would be no reaction and no reaction was worse than a bad one. They both continued staring at her, waiting.  
She took a quick breath in and then let it rush out. "He was a dick but he still deserves a proper burial." And looked up to Klaus.  
The Original hybrid seemed very taken aback. He hadn't expected her to react that way. He only meant to help her deal with what he'd just done. Otherwise, Caroline would have been catatonic. But neither him nor Elena had expected what came out of her mouth or the look of impatience she was giving him.  
"I'll get on it right away, Love." Klaus couldn't keep the disbelief out of this eyes as he went to get something.  
Caroline and Elena almost jumped out of their skin when they heard the most shrill scream they'd ever heard. It was Bonnie. She'd chosen that moment to wake up and see the body. The blood had started to spread and Tyler's head was covered in droplets from his severed neck. So much had happened in such a short span of time but Elena would gather her thoughts later. Right now she had to get to Bonnie.  
"Look at me." Elena ordered and Bonnie's frightened eyes obeyed. She, like the rest of them, hadn't had any Vervain today. "You're okay."  
"I'm okay," Bonnie repeated in a sort of trance.  
"She's a witch," Caroline said. "She should be immune to compulsion."  
"Yeah but you heard her talking with Klaus. Her powers are very basic right now and would be incredibly difficult to harness." Elena looked back into Bonnies Brown gaze.  
"You know that Tyler died but you never saw his body. It was already gone when you woke up."  
"already gone when I woke up," Bonnie echoed.  
"You're still a little sleepy, Bonnie. Take another nap, okay?"  
"Okay." And that was it. Bonnie's lights were out and her head eased back down.  
Caroline walked over to the armchair that Elena had occupied and plopped down into it. "Wow, what a day." She looked up to the ceiling and then her eyes drifted to the shattered pieces of Elena's phone. "What happened to your phone?" She looked more stressed over this discovery than what just happened to Tyler.  
_**That's**__ what she's worried about?! I __**really**__ need to get ahold of Damon_, Elena thought and began dialing again on Bonnie's phone.  
"Hey, _you_ called _me_." She heard Damon's voicemail start yet again as Klaus came back in to role Tyler's body parts into a tarp...

***Hope I still have your attention ;)


	11. Chapter 11

** Sorry for the delay. With the holidays and moving, things have been a little hectic but I'm back and ready to write! ;)

Klaus hadn't taken much time at all to wrap everything up and head out. He kept looking at Caroline as if expecting something. Elena knew he was worried. He was clear about who he was and wouldn't change into something he wasn't but he was still concerned at what Caroline would do. It was as though he feared her deciding to leave him more than anything. Elena could understand that. When Damon tried to send her away it was the most heart breaking thing she'd ever experienced.  
Still, she didn't like Klaus compelling Caroline even if it was similar to what Damon had done with their bond. It just didn't feel the same.  
Klaus was gone now and there was no trace of the blood. Caroline went over to the armchair and plopped down with a huff as if she were bored and looked up at the ceiling. Slowly her gaze drifted to the floor where she spotted something.  
"Oh my god, Elena. What happened to your phone?" Caroline seemed more concerned about Elena's shattered cell than about the fact that her current love interest had just killed and taken out to bury her former boyfriend.  
"Nothing as horrific as what just happened to Tyler."  
"Please, Elena. You heard what he was about to say. Besides, it's in the past now." Caroline shrugged.  
"Have you gone insane?! It was ten minutes ago!"  
Caroline could not have given a more don't-be-so-dramatic look if she tried. She was acting like it didn't matter. Like it had really been a long time ago and that she had better things to talk about.  
"You want to be with Damon and I am willing to be a supportive friend from now on and have _your_ back. Why can't you have mine?"  
"Are you seriously comparing Damon to Klaus?" Elena couldn't believe her ears. Damon was on their side. He had been for a long time and Caroline had worked along side him to protect the people they all cared about.  
"Yeah, I am. Elena, Damon killed Jeremy. Just because he came back to life doesn't take that away. He also tried to kill Bonnie. He's tried to kill _me_! Aren't you forgetting how he started out? He came into town the same way that Klaus did. He was the 'big bad' with an agenda and anyone that stood in his way was colateral damage. He didn't care about anything or anyone until he started falling for you."  
Elena felt like she'd been smacked in the face. It had been over a year since Damon had most recently turned up in Mystic Falls and she hadn't thought about that time in quite a while. Caroline was right. Damon had come into town specifically to get Katherine out of the tomb that she wasn't really in and he was very clear about what he would do if anyone got in the way. Things all changed as Damon had fallen for Elena and realized that Katherine was no good for him. She hadn't even loved him. Since then Damon had come a long way. He was the man that she had always wanted him to be and she was more in love than ever.  
"But, Caroline, Klaus will never change. He said so himself. Damon changed for me."  
"No. He became his best self for you. He hasn't changed. You just bring out the best in him. And I bring out the best in Klaus."  
Elena looked pointedly at where Tyler had been alive moments before.  
"Look," Caroline said, "I get it. Klaus killing Tyler wasn't the best and I wish he wouldn't have but what's done is done. I'll talk to him and make sure that from now on he holds himself in check but there's nothing I can do after the fact."  
Elena was quiet for a long time in thought. She stared in concentration at the floor.  
"You're really willing to accept this? You're willing to let your moral compass veer that far from North?"  
"It's not always so black and white Elena. You should know that better than anyone."  
"Fine." Elena wasn't happy about it at all but knew that she wouldn't be able to solve anything today. She couldn't get around that for Caroline, it felt like Tyler had been gone for a long time. Klaus had killed Aunt Jenna but Elena was able to be around him because he had helped occasionally. Time really did make a difference. She was murderous towards Klaus after that but over the course, it had eased. Caroline had the clear perspective of what must feel like years. It still didn't sit well with Elena but they would need to address it at another time.  
Right now, she needed to try Damon's phone again. It rang a few times before she got the voicemail again and hung up. What was he doing? Where was he?  
She sent a text to Stefan saying that she still hadn't gotten ahold of his brother and sat on the opposite Bonnie on the couch. The witch was asleep just as Elena had compelled her to be. There had been far too much compelling and sire bond control for one day. She wanted to relax and try to sleep as she hadn't had any in two days but it wouldn't come. The couch was so long that she and Bonnie could lay down and curl up on their separate ends but it wasn't working. Without knowing what was going on with Damon, Elena couldn't bare to shut her eyes.  
The silence was stretching on until Caroline got up. "I'm going to go find Klaus. Let me know if something happens while I'm gone."  
Elena nodded as the blonde walked out.

***Short chapter, yes, but it needed to be split up this way.


	12. Chapter 12

Caroline found Klaus about a half mile away from his house digging a hole. He was the strongest hybrid yet the work was making him break a sweat. She stood there for a moment in the trees just outside of his view. She liked watching him. His muscles rippled beneath the t-shirt he had on and he was so concentrated on what he was doing. She was drawn to that look he had. The look that said he was so focused and determined. Not that digging really took a lot of thought. He was probably somewhere else in his mind, lost in some other world.  
He hadn't noticed that she'd arrived and this opportunity to watch him was just something she couldn't pass up. It was late and there wasn't much light but being a vampire had it's perks. She could see him beautifully. How had she steered clear of him for so long? He made it clear that she was what he wanted from the very start. Even after she'd played the distraction so many times, he still was willing to trust her and love her. Something told her deep down that he did. Tyler on the other hand had been one that needed time to let feelings grow. They bonded together over shared experiences in their supernatural lives. She had helped him through in his time of need so of course he had latched onto her.  
Tyler had shown her something different when the Hybrids started showing up. He had wanted so desperately to have a pack, a family. Probably because he kept loosing people he was biologically related to. She felt sorry for him. His pain was over now though. In a way she was comforted for him. He'd endured so much and maybe this end for him was a good thing. It really wasn't an end though. Because of Bonnie and Jeremy, Caroline knew that death was never the very end, even for a vampire/ werewolf. They still had souls though most people thought they didn't. They could go to a better place and start a new chapter in their journey. Now, Tyler was with his father and his uncle. That gave her some peace.  
"How long are you going to stand their staring at me?" Klaus' voice brought her out of her thoughts. "If it was anyone but you I would think it was a bit... creepy." He was mocking her. He still had not turned to the side, still hadn't looked at her but he could sense her presence all the same.  
"It's not creepy. It's romantic." Caroline briefly thought of Elena. It sounded like something she would say.  
"Yes, well it won't be too long now, Love. Just finishing up. A little deeper and it should suffice." He then turned his head and caught her gaze. He had a primitive look about him. His brow and the chiseled cheek bones and jaw line. The way his lips were full and his nose had a sort of puggish look but in the sexiest of ways. Such sharp and, at times, harsh looking features made him look fierce. Sometimes, however, his eyes would turn soft, especially when looking at her and then it was completely different.  
His appearance made Caroline truly believe in evolution. You could tell easily that he came from a time before. He was animalistic in some ways and the masculinity of this Alpha male was too intense to deny. She loved that about him. He could be absolutely barbaric. Suddenly she felt a heat flash down her abdomen and speed up her breathing.  
Klaus sensed the change in her and looked up at her from under his eyebrows in a way that promised something so carnal after he was done with what he was doing. Caroline couldn't even seem to remember what it was he was out here for. Her libido wouldn't let her focus on anything else.  
He had the most devilish smirk on his face. "I'll hurry, Love. Go up to _our_ room and I'll join you in the shower."  
Yes, he was certainly dirty... in more ways than one but what really caught her attention was when he used the word "our".  
Caroline didn't need to be told twice. She got a big smile and lightly scampered back to the manor.  
Elena had fallen asleep on the couch. Caroline hadn't thought she could with how sick with worry she was over Damon but the exhaustion had caught up with her. Even though her friend didn't understand her connection to the Original, she still loved her. They'd been friends since they were in first grade and nothing would change that. They would have some things to work on and get through but it was nothing that they couldn't handle.  
Caroline gently brushed the hair that had fallen into Elena's face and pulled an afghan to cover her all the way to her shoulders.  
The blonde vampire then went up the stairs and pranced into _their_ bedroom. The shower was in the ensuite and she couldn't wait. She eagerly took off her clothes and got in, turning on the hot water. It felt like heaven. This time she wouldn't just wash Klaus and have it be innocent. She wanted him in every way and boy he would know how. She really was enjoying his several millennia of experience.  
Suddenly she heard the door close to the bedroom. She couldn't see through the glass of the shower as it was already fogged up but knew that he was in the bathroom. She could hear his clothes drop to the floor one by one and he took them off.  
Klaus slowly opened the shower door and stepped in with her. He had smudges of dirt on his face, hands and arms but his jeans and shirt had covered the rest of him. He took some time to rinse and scrub it off and then his full attention was on her.  
"Do it." Caroline's demand was simple but Klaus wasn't in the mood to rush anything this time. He wanted to take it slow and make her so hot that she was begging for it. Only then would he give in and put her out of her misery.  
Instead of grabbing her and giving her a full and hard kiss, he turned her around and held her body to his but he made sure that there was space between their lower halves so that she wouldn't feel how badly he wanted her. His erection was quick. It always was and would be for this woman. She drove him mad and made everything turn upside down. He knew when he first saw her that he wanted her. At the time he had been busy getting Tyler to drink Elena's blood but the young hybrid's girlfriend had not gone unnoticed.  
Klaus' hands closed over Caroline's breasts and her breathing became shallow. He teased her nipples and massaged until her chest felt wonderfully full and swollen. The girls were at full attention and she felt glorious. He gave a light squeeze to her ribs and a shiver went down her body.  
She could feel his stubbled chin graze her neck right before he started kissing it. He gave her small bites at first. Nibbled and licked. In the heat of the water this felt like heaven. Slowly he moved on hand down. Very slowly. Her entire body was heating up and she felt like she was going to faint. It burned in the most amazing way.  
All at the same time his hand closed on her in between her thighs and his teeth sunk into her neck making her scream and whimper in ecstasy. As he was feeding, he lifted up the hand that had been on her chest so that his wrist was in front of her mouth. His bite was venomous but his blood was the cure. This was such a dangerous game but she knew he would never let anything happen to her. The whole thing was strong and addictive.  
She bit down on his wrist and as he was consuming her, she was devouring him. His blood tasted like nothing she'd ever had before. It felt like her life essence was leaving her body but that she was sucking in something better. She could feel his blood gently coat this inside of her stomach and her hunger for it raged as did her need for the man behind her.  
After a few minutes of feeding, when the hunger was driving her into a monster, he cupped her really firm and brought her butt to press against him. He was rock hard and ready for her but he wasn't going to do anything yet. Klaus wanted to play.  
He was teasing her with his masterful fingers and making her inner thighs wet without help from the jetting water. Her knees buckled but he caught her with an arm around her waist. He could feel how shaky she was. She wanted him more than anything.  
"Please," she moaned.  
"Please what?"  
"Please just move your hand a little more," Caroline pleaded.  
She was coming apart but he didn't want her to finish yet so he steadied his hand.  
"Klaus!" she needed release now more than ever and was getting hostile. If he didn't finish her soon she was sure she would die.  
It was then that he spun her around and pinned her to the shower wall. One of his hands had both of hers trapped above her head and the over grabbed the back of her knee and brought it up and past his hip so that he was snug against her.  
With a skilled motion he slipped into her. It was so slow but both of them were straining. Caroline was clawing at the shower tiles above her, still trapped by his hand. His lips brushed hers softly but she simply couldn't do it so she bit down on his lower lip and tugged him into a deeper kiss.  
Soon his tongue was moving in and out of her mouth matching the rhythm down below where he was sliding in and out as well. Caroline tightened around him and he could feel her working the inner muscles that he knew she hadn't known existed. She had never experienced anything like this and it made him want her even more. He wasn't her first lover but he was the first lover that drove her to the edges of sanity like he was doing now. She'd never known anything as raw as this that filled her with the most excruciating need for him.  
He eased his hand down her body, freeing her hands and slipped it down behind her to her butt. First he gripped it firmly which made her moan but then he roughly plunged into her again. Using both of his hands, one yanked her leg behind him further and the other forcefully clenched her tight to him and he began moving faster and harder.  
Klaus was still driving her mad with his tongue but there was one more spot that was a little unconventional and would shock her but also knew that it would send her over the edge. The hand on Carolines butt moved between her cheeks and began massaging between them eliciting a surprised pant from her.  
Eyed flew open but with every orifice being stimulated the soon fluttered shut again. He was pounding into her and had that same rhythm going with every part over her body.  
When she came, it was everywhere. Her entire body lit up and the heat wave was earth shattering. Caroline cried out into Klaus' mouth and rode out the rough spasms with him as he finished with her. The growl that came from his mouth revealed the pure bred beast he truly was.  
He was everywhere and she couldn't tell where her body ended and his began. They were melded together in an explosion that rocked her to the core. He kept driving into her until finally her head dropped onto his shoulder. Her hands that had been gripping the back of his neck slacked to the sides and she rested her palms on his shoulders, draping her fingers down his shoulder blades.  
Caroline sighed and Klaus got one of his classic closed mouth smiles as he slowly slid out of her and eased her leg down. He could feel that she could barely stand and knew that he needed to get her into bed. They had both exerted every muscle they had and he knew that, again, she was to the point of falling asleep into a wonder filled dream.  
He gently picked her up in a bridal carry and walked out of the shower dripping everywhere with the water still running behind them. He carefully laid her on the foot of the bed and retrieved a towel to wipe her off.  
Klaus dried her slowly and she sighed to the soft nubs wiping away the moisture. When he was done, he stepped into the bathroom, turned off the faucet and brought back a jar of something.  
"What's that?" Caroline asked dreamily.  
"Cocoa butter creme."  
"Not massage oil?"  
He chuckled. "No. This is much better. Oil is too slippery. This is thick. It requires one to knead into the skin until it's thoroughly saturated. You'll see."  
Klaus opened the jar and scooped out a dab of the Cocoa butter and began working it into her as he sat at her side on the bed. She was sprawled out and completely relaxed. Her eyes were glazed but then she shut them again. He rubbed it into her abdomen and then into her breasts and followed down her arms. Taking his time and using his thumbs, fingers and palms to stroke every inch of her. The scent filled the room and made Caroline even more relaxed and tired.  
By the time Klaus was done, Caroline had drifted off as she had last time. And just like last time, he softly whispered "I love you".  
One day she would say it back but not yet. It was too soon for her but he knew it wouldn't be long. The more time that passed, the more sure he was becoming that she was his forever. He sensed that this was the woman he would spend the rest of eternity with. She would be the one he would share all of his adventures with from now on. He didn't need his make shift brother, Stefan. He didn't need his hybrids. He didn't need the family that had proven so disloyal. Because finally, he wasn't alone any more.


	13. Chapter 13

Elena saw mist. It was so foggy that she couldn't see where she was. But the familiar sound of two voices made her muddled mind focus and sharpen until not only were her surroundings clear but so were the voices. She was in the Salvator manor. Stefan was standing to her left and Damon was lounging on the couch slightly to her right. They were having a conversation that had an edge to it and neither one seemed to notice her.  
"Tired of your little play thing already?"  
"Don't start with me, Stefan." Damon said. "She's just my distraction."  
They were talking about Andy Star. The reporter that Stefan ended up killing. Elena was seeing an event from the past. Or was she just imagining the whole thing? Either way, this wasn't current. Her presence was completely ignored as thought she were just a member of an audience watching the scene unfold.  
Stefan huffed. "She's a person. You're victimizing her." He turned to walk away but Damon interjected.  
"You should be thankful she's here. Keeps me from going for what I really want."  
The look on Damon's face was one that Elena had seen before. It was one that said he was trying to rile up his brother. All the same, he was telling the truth.  
"You're right. Thank you, for being in love with my girlfriend." His jaw was clenched.  
Damon dropped his glass of bourbon onto the side table next to him and stood up. "And there it is," he said with a smirk. This must have been the first time that the brothers had confronted this problem out loud.  
"There it is," Stefan confirmed. "You know, you can be in love with Elena all you want if it means that you'll protect her." He'd walked closer to his brother making the tension between them grow. She could see that it could explode at any moment. "But I have the one thing that you never will." _Uh-oh, he's about to sling something right back_, Elena thought.  
"Oh yeah? What's that?" Damon asked.  
"Her respect."  
Damon's face melded into fury as he suddenly punched stefan across the room into a bookcase. The ground seemed to be shaking and she could hear their vampiric growling.  
As natural for Elena, she tried to get between them and stop it but she couldn't move. Her voice wouldn't come out. And why would it? If this was something that happened in the past, there was nothing she could do to affect it whatsoever what happened would happen.  
They the locked one another in a death grip and growled. That was when she, the past her, walked in and got them to stop.  
The scene melted back into mist and another place came into view. Elena was standing on her front porch as Damon was coming out of her house and a past her or maybe a future version was walking up the steps. But Elena saw something in the other Elena's hands. It was her costume from the Mystic falls parade. The one she couldn't find. That meant that the girl she was seeing wasn't herself from the future or past, it was Katherine.  
"What are you doing here?" Katherine asked. She was pretending to be Elena.  
"A failed and feeble attempt at doing the right thing," Damon replied.  
"Which was?" Katherine was keeping what she said vague and short.  
"It's not important. Let me take this for you." Damon took the costume from Katherine like the gentleman Elena knew he could be. She had always wondered what exactly had happened that night and now, she would find out. Maybe what she was seeing was real and maybe not. Whatever the case, she was riveted to the spot watching things unfold.  
"Thank you," Katherine said as Damon placed the costume no the porch swing. Her expression showed confusion. At this point, Katherine must have been figuring out just what Elena's relationship with Damon had been. She wasn't sure of what to do or say to completely impersonate Elena. The look on her face said it all. She was calculating what was going on and treading carefully.  
"You know, I came to this town wanting to destroy it but tonight I found myself wanting to protect it. How does that happen? I'm not a hero, Elena. I don't do good. It's not in me."  
"Maybe it is," Katherine offered. This statement was safe for her.  
"No, it's reserved for my brother and you and Bonnie. Even though she has every reason to hate me, still helped Stefan save me." Damon seemed confused.  
Elena looked at him realizing that this was before he knew what he meant to anyone. This was before he really tried to change and be a good person. He was morphing into someone he didn't know and how much he was beginning to care was scaring him a little bit. Elena remembered this Damon but didn't get to see much of his reaction to it back then.  
"Why do you sound so surprised?" Katherine asked the same question Elena wondered.  
"Because she did it for you. Which means that somewhere along the way," he was getting closer to the girl he thought was her, "you decided that I was worth saving. And I wanted to thank you for that."  
He was right. He'd told her later at the hospital, before he figured out that it wasn't her he kissed, that his feelings had been exposed. And now, as Elena was watching it unfold, she could see the vulnerability on his face. She knew that he'd been telling the truth. He had opened his soul to her, or rather, who he thought was her. Elena's heart softened even more for Damon. Even then he was trying to show her what was inside him.  
"You're Welcome," Katherine said and slowly Damon kissed her on the cheek.  
It was something so soft and innocent. Elena wondered what she would have done if it really had been her that night. How would she have reacted to this vampire being in such close proximity to her at the time? Her feelings were completely different now. Then, she would have been shocked.  
Damon slowly pulled back, still staying close to Katherine's face and looked into her eyes. If Katherine had never shown up, this would have been her. Damon thought he was looking into Elena's eyes. And again, she saw how vulnerable he was. Katherine was looking right back at him and not reeling back so it was no wonder that Damon slowly drew back to her. He was giving her plenty of time to pull away if she wanted to but she wasn't. Of course Damon had been fooled. Katherine was such a good actress. Had Elena felt more for Damon at that point, she might not have backed away either.  
Their lips touched. Damon was gentle and hesitant at first until fake-Elena began to respond. The kiss became more intense and for a brief moment, Elena felt a heat flash through her body as if she were really watching herself and Damon together. This would have been a wonderful first kiss if the timing hadn't been all wrong. Now she could understand why Damon had reacted the way he did. Elena could now see why he had been so drawn in and convinced that they had something in that moment.  
The fog returned and Elena was swept away. From one scene to another, a slew of events played before her showing Damon in moments when she wasn't around. It showed him before he had proven himself. There were so many things he never told her, so many things he never took credit for.  
Elena couldn't tell if this was just her subconscious making things up or not but it really felt like she was being given glimpses into who Damon really was when she wasn't looking. And it only made her love him even more.

Caroline came down stairs after awakening yet again after another mind blowing sex session with Klaus had rendered her unconscious. The beautifully bewitching Original was lazily draped over an arm chair across from a sleeping Elena. He looked like raw power and sex and the instant he looked up to her she felt her body burn. God, would she ever get use to this?  
"What time is it?" She asked.  
"All three of you have been out for nearly 24 hours," he commented. "Elena's been mumbling the most interesting little tid bits about Damon. I've learned quite a bit."  
"Yeah?" Caroline stretched. "Like what?"  
"Like-" Klaus was cut off by Bonnie's phone breaking the silence.  
Elena jumped at vamp speed and quickly realized where the noise was coming from and answered the phone. "Damon?!"  
Her features relaxed as she started a conversation with her lover. It was hushed but both blondes in the room could hear every word. Damon was apparently at the Lake house cleaning something up and was being very elusive in telling Elena the whole story. Something about how he had solved all of their problems.  
That's when Jeremy walked in the front door. All looked up at him except for Bonnie who was still asleep. _That couldn't be healthy_, Elena thought.  
Elena's little brother walked in as easily as if he'd been use to doing so this whole time and perched on the arm of the couch at Bonnie's end and didn't say a word. He looked somber and content.  
"Well?" Caroline was impatient. "What happened? Why are you here? Where's Shane?"  
Jeremy shrugged. "I killed him." He said this as if it was nothing.  
"WHAT?!" Elena and Caroline said together completely shocked. Klaus didn't seem to have much of a reaction expect a slight look of approval.  
"Damon came and told me what you guys thought, that Shane was really Silas and that he might be powerless so we thought 'what the hell, let's see what happens if I cut his head off'. Turns out, he died easily enough. Without Bonnie and I, he couldn't finish whatever else he needed to but just in case me and Damon chopped him up and burned the pieces. Damon's just sticking around there for a while to make sure it's not one of those 'die and come back to life' things."  
"So wait, that's it?" Caroline was in disbelief.  
"Baring any unforeseen complications, yeah. I don't see why not." Jeremy had apparently watched a couple episodes of a medical show.  
"Bravo, young Gilbert," Klaus looked quite pleased. Jeremy nodded as if it was no big deal.  
Klaus then looked to Caroline. "Shall we start in Rome, Love?"  
"The world has a lot to offer," she relied after a beat. "We can start wherever."

They were all shocked in the end how easy it was to stop what seemed like a master evil. At first they were skeptical, waiting for the other shoe to drop but it never did.  
Caroline and Klaus took off to Rome and later many other cities all across the world. Damon and Elena eventually had to leave Mystic Falls as people were beginning to notice that neither were aging but they always knew that they would return every five or six decades. It was, after all where they began. Jeremy and Bonnie made amends and began their relationship anew. Jeremy continued to hunt vampires and Bonnie slowly regained her magic in the most pure and natural way she could. Stefan went to Chicago for reasons no one could understand but then word reached a few of them that Katherine was spotted there too so it didn't take a lot to guess what was happening there.  
None of them lived "Happily ever after" but as close to it as you could reasonably get. Over time, Caroline and Klaus became something of a myth that supernatural beings whispered about in hushed tones. Damon and Elena's relationship was relayed as the fairy tale of the sire bonded couple that were genuinely in love. Jeremy and Bonnie lived longer than any other "humans" and romantically died together. If you had been at their joined funeral, you would have seen two blondes standing together, a man and a young woman. And a dark haired couple. No one knew who they were and both disappeared after the service and didn't speak to anyone, only exchanging knowing glaces to the other pair.

*** I suppose I could have kept going with this story but I'm really getting caught up in the show currently and wanted to wrap up. I hope you liked it. If not, let me know how you would have wanted it. And I am perfectly happy for someone else to build on it/ finish it differently if they'd like to. Love all the great feedback I've gotten, good and bad. You guys have truly made me a better writer and I'll continue working and writing new stories.


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